Right Before Your Eyes
by A Christy
Summary: Post Grave Danger Nick's on the mend and everyone's working weird cases. Things become murky before they become clear for a few of our favourite characters.
1. Chapter 1

**_A.N.:_** OK, I may be wading in way beyond my depth with the concepts I'm attempting here, so be patient with me... and don't laugh too hard if the whole thing just ends up seeming ridiculous! lol

I've just been having some weird dreams lately and this idea just sort of came to me. Remember: Suspension of disbelief is always key in my stories! ;) I'm starting off broadly, but it will narrow down eventually... I hope?

* * *

"It makes no sense. There's no sign of this guy and yet 10 people claim he was here." Nick frowned at Greg and looked around the small room they stood in. "No fingerprints, no shoe prints, no trace of any kind..."

"Don't witnesses usually screw up when they report what they saw?" Greg queried.

"Yeah, but it's not normally like this. They report the suspect as too short, too tall, wrong coloured clothes... but it's highly unlikely that 10 people are going to say they saw a man dressed in black go into a room and not come back out." He smirked at Greg. "Unless we're dealing with the ghost of Johnny Cash."

Greg laughed and then looked around some more. "Well, no visible exits... no damage to the walls or carpeting... I don't know. I say we pull up the carpet and see if there's a trap door or something."

Nick tilted his head to the side. "Feel free. I'm going to go talk to that witness Vega's quizzing again."

Greg smirked at Nick. "Gee, thanks for your assistance. _No_, don't worry about me. I'll just pull all this hideous shag carpeting up all by myself."

Nick grinned back over his shoulder as he departed. "Hey, it was your idea man. And you're a strapping young lad. You can handle it."

Greg grinned to himself as he dug in with both hands.

The truth was, he was just happy that Nick had been acting a little more like his old self in the last couple of days. His friend had been understandably withdrawn since his ordeal, but when anybody had tried to "be there" for him, he'd blown them off or gotten annoyed at the extra attention.

At first he'd seemed OK with everyone's concern, and possibly even a little grateful, but after a while he'd clearly had enough. Greg could understand that, though. It would probably get on anybody's nerves after a while.

But depite his protests that he was fine, Nick still frequently seemed like a different guy sometimes. A little harder to talk to, a little more distant.

Catherine's words to him and Sara from weeks past came back to him: "All you can do is give him time and be there if he does need you. Don't push it."

Simple words and pretty much common sense, but true nonethless.

Greg began to pry the offensive carpet from under the baseboard.

* * *

Nick walked through the labs and headed to where Hodges was eyeing him carefully.

"You got something for me, Hodges or do you just like my shirt?" Nick asked wryly.

"Well, cerulean blue definitely works for you... but actually I have the results on that substance in your D.B's wound."

"And?"

"Very small glass beads."

Nick looked unimpressed. "Small glass beads? That's it? Hell, I told you that when I brought them in."

Hodges looked at him blandly. "Well, maybe you're smarter than you think then." He handed Nick the results sheet and headed for the doorway. "Just don't go gunning for my job, that's all I ask." He smirked his wry smile and disappeared around the corner.

Nick grinned despite himself.

* * *

"Don't beat a dead horse, Warrick." Sara pulled the cobwebs out of her hair impatiently.

"Look, I'm just sayin'-"

"Yeah, yeah... You've been '_just sayin'_' for 5 minutes already. I _screamed_, OK. Get over it."

"Sorry, Sidle. I just didn't think there was anything that scared you."

"Well, big spiders suddenly crawling over my face make me scream. Go figure. I'd like to see you handle it any better."

Warrick just grinned, refusing to admit she was probably right. But at least his yell would be less... _girly_.

They walked out of the old house dustier than when they'd entered, but with nothing else to show for their time inside.

Sara sighed as they surveyed the unoccupied, run-down bungalow. "Warrick, why are we even _here_? Are we supposed to be Ghostbusters now or something?"

Warrick chuckled. "Look, they said a guy in white, not a guy in a white sheet."

"Either way... Even if a guy with '_something that looked like_ _blood_' on his back ran in here, he probably just went straight out the back door. There are a million footprints in there and probably at least that many fingerprints."

Warrick looked bemused. "Yeah, I processed here last year when they busted that meth lab. Doesn't look like it's been lived in since then, or at least not officially. I bet every print we do find is likely in AFIS anyway... and most of them are probably behind bars already."

Sara shook her head, exasperated. "There's no point in us being here. We don't even know if there's been a crime committed."

Warrick shrugged. Sara had never been one _not _to complain when she felt the urge, that was for sure. Except now he was sort of enjoying it. It was nice to have the team back together, and he had to admit he'd missed working with her, quirks and all. She was a damned fine CSI.

Still, in the back of his mind he wished he was working with Nick... a compulsion he felt all too regularly these days. He knew deep down that the flip of a coin had not determined Nick's fate, but still he felt the guilt. The guilt of the one who got away.

And he also knew that his lingering need to look out for one of his closest friends was the exact reason why he wasn't working with Nick right now. You could say a lot of things about Grissom's people skills, but his perception of Nick's needs right now seemed a bit uncanny. And Warrick knew his boss's instincts were dead on this time: Nick didn't need him watching over him all the time. The fact that he couldn't seem to help himself made switching off the partnerings all the more logical, as much as it made him a bit antsy.

But no more antsy than Nick had seemed the last time Warrick had been paired with him. Clearly Nick was getting weary of the brotherly concern, as subtle asWarrick had tried to be about it.

_I gotta let him be_. _There's nothing more I can do for him_.

He stared back at Sara. "Tell that officer we're out of here. I need food, and you're buying."

Sara was about to protest when she caught the sparkle in Warrick's eye. "You got it, boss."

Warrick started to dial his cell phone to let Grissom know they were finished when Sara flashed him a bright smile. "_Who ya gonna call_?"

* * *

Catherine was pissed. The suspect was giving her attitude and even when she was in a good mood, she despised it when people gave her attitude. And she was not in a good mood today.

Brass watched as her temper began to emulate her hair colour, hiding a grin.

_Well, I better diffuse this before the explosion_.

"Well, Mr. Meyer... I guess we'll be in touch. And I would strongly suggest you don't leave town."

Meyer stood up and Catherine looked at Brass in astonishment as the man slipped out the door and down the corridor. "Wha... You're just letting him go? Just like that?"

"We can't hold him, Catherine. You know that."

"We could have questioned him more-"

"He talking in circles. The only thing we've learned is that he's an even bigger asshole than we first assumed, and that he knows how to push your buttons."

She was about to give him a piece of her mind, but she stopped as she realized he was right. A smile played across her lips. "Yeah, he was pissing me off."

"And I have the cure. Breakfast. On me."

"Why Jim, is this a date?" She batted her eyelashes coyly and Brass smirked back at her.

"Sorry Catherine, I'm out of your league."

Catherine's brows went up in amusement but she held her tongue and followed the man out to the parking lot.

* * *

Warrick chuckled as he spotted Brass and Catherine at a table in the diner. He and Sara made their way over and pulled out a couple chairs.

Sara grinned. "It's a good thing none of us are being investigated for anything. Our patterns are a little too predictable."

The others laughed and they all settled into their comfortable routine of breakfast table banter. Catherine felt more relaxed than she had in ages.

Ever since the team had been reassembled, she'd been torn between her dismay at no longer being a supervisor (but with the new title of Lead Hand for Grissom, and no cut in her salary) and content to be back on familiar ground, working with the old crew. She knew why she'd initially accepted the proposed demotion: she hadn't even been able to consider abandoning Nick after what he'd been through.

Still, she'd spent a lot of years doing what she did best, and that was looking out for number one, and every fibre of her being had revolted at the idea of letting the superviser position slip through her fingers. But she'd once told Grissom that, like it or not, these people he worked with were building a family around him. And she was part of that family... and so was Nick.

So she'd weighed her options and had finally agreed to take the Lead Hand position. And as it was, Grissom pretty much let her do her own thing anyway. He'd never said it, but she knew he was thankful to have her working his shift again.

She looked up as Greg appeared in the doorway and sauntered over towards them.

"Well, well. If it isn't wonder boy. Done your case?"

He sat down tiredly beside Sara, grinning shyly at her but not realizing it. "Nah. But we're at a dead end and we need to regroup. Gonna hit it next shift."

Sara looked back towards the door, disappointed that Nick hadn't followed her young colleague into the diner. Brass voicedthe question for her.

"Where's Nick?"

"He wanted to check back at the lab and then head home."

An uneasy silence fell over the group for a moment. Nick rarely joined them anymore and they all felt the hole his absence left.

Brass tried to lighten the mood. "Just as well... My stomach couldn't handle watching the guy plow through a plate of refried beans. I'm feeling a little delicate."

They all roared with laughter and began to ease back into their comfortable routine once more. Nick was slowly getting bac k into his groove and if it took a little longer, well... They would all give him time.

Sara chewed her bottom lip, thinking.

_I just wish he'd join in the way he used to_.

And then she pushed the thought away, annoyed at her own selfishness. And surprised at how much she missed the old Nick... missed _him_, really.

The last time they'd spoken, they'd had a bit of an argument. That in itself wasn't unusual- they often had differing opinions at work. But this time, Sara had felt the need to pull her punches. She was still worried about stressing him out. Unfortunately, Nick had recognized it and she could tell he knew. He hadn't actually said anything, but when he'd frowned at her and shaken his head before walking away, she'd known he wasn't dismayed about the disagreement. He was annoyed at being treated with kid gloves once again. But she couldn't seem to help herself. She just really didn't want to cause him anymore grief. Was that so wrong?

She drew in a deep breath and tried to forget about it.

_Tomorrow's another day_. _I'll act differently next time_.

Then she smiled inwardly.

_Yeah_, _right Sidle_. _Yeah right_. _You're just going to suddenly stop worrying about the g_uy.

She was distracted from her thoughts as she caught Greg smiling at her from the corner of her eye.

"What are you grinning at?"

The waitress appeared and drew his gaze away as he replied, attempting to sound casual.

"Nothing."

He ordered an orange juice and turned back to her, smiling innocuously.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A.N:_ **Heh... I've already confused a couple people, and I'm not even past _chapter 1_! That does not bode well. lol!

OK, let me elaborate on a couple of points.

_Firstly_, I'm not going to go too far into the really really angsty stuff, but after the events of Grave Danger, I couldn't really avoid that Nick's gotta be a somewhat changed person now. Or I would assume he would be for a little while as he recovers, mentally at least.

_Secondly_, it's a romance/_drama_, so I'm going to try to get back to my roots and actually work around some cases, as opposed to just the romance. And you may have noticed that I haven't actually indicated _who's_ romancing _whom_, so... All I ask is that you keep an open mind.

_I Want George- _Your wish is my command. But remember: sometimes it's not good to wish for stuff because you may not like it when you get it... or will you? Muahahaha...! (Incidentally, I've been waiting all summer for you to continue _your _story. Hurry up!)

And to everyone else- thanks so much for your early reviews. Thanks for coming out!

* * *

"Well, my case is kaput so if you want some help..."

"As a matter of fact I was just about to ask you." Grissom looked at her calmly.

Catherine was somewhat amused that he used the words "ask you" as opposed to "tell you". Grissom was more politick than he knew sometimes. Or maybe their long-standing friendship had something to do with it. Either way, they'd always worked well together and she was happy to join him on this possible murder case.

She looked around the table as her other colleagues weighed in with their cases. Sara and Warrick were each taking new solo assignments and Nick finished advising everyone on their progress so far.

Grissom looked bemused. "Well, if there's no evidence to support the presence of this person, you need to be asking yourselves: Was he even there?"

Greg shook his head. "How could 10 people be mistaken?"

"You said it was party."

"Yep."

"Was there any alcohol present?"

"Of course. But still-"

Nick jumped in, knowing from experience that it was best to avoid these academic arguments with Grissom. You couldn't win them, especially without all the facts."We're still investigating, Grissom. I'll let you know where we end up."

Grissom nodded and began to stand up. "Well, if there's nothing else?"

They all moved towards the door, butSara turned to smirk at Nick. "Sounds like you've got a Snufalufagas."

He stopped and looked at her questioningly and Greg paused beside him. "What?"

"A Snufalufagus. You know, from "Sesame Street"-"

"Yeah, I know what it is, Sara. We got Sesame Street in Texas too. What are you talking about?"

"Well, acreature that only a select few can see, and nobody else believes in it..." She shrugged her shoulders, a bit embarrassed now at having ever mentioned it. "At least when I was a kid only Big Bird ever saw him..." She felt even more stupid as she watched Nick's bland expression. Greg, at least, was grinning beside him.

Then suddenly Nick rubbed the back of his neck and a huge grin spread across his face as he looked at the floor in amazement for a moment.He chuckled out loud and continued to smile at her as he made his way past. "A Snufalufugus, Sara? Just when you think you know someone..."

He winked at her and continued tolaugh as he made his way around the corner. She smiled back and felt a strange stirring of happiness about having earned a smile from her friend.

Greg was still grinning at Sara as she moved down another corridor. Then he trotted off to catch up with Nick.

* * *

Grissom and Catherine looked at the almost naked body lying in the alley in front of them.

Detective Vartan nodded to their left. "He was found over there... a bunch of gangsta-wannabes found him laying behind that dumpster and thought it'd be funny to pull him out and harrass him. Scare him a bit. They thought he was just some drunken bum, passed out after too much hooch. They took off after a squad car flashed their lights. Officers found him lying here in the middle of the alley."

"Did they take his clothes too?"

"Nope. Bill says he's been lying behind the dumpster in his underwear for a while."

Catherine looked up from the body. "Bill?"

"Yeah, Bill." He indicated a homeless man standing off to the side with an officer, sipping coffee. "He's been shuffling back and forth along here for days. Says the kids didn't kill him though. He's been here since last night."

"Why didn't Bill report the body to the police?" Grissom looked unimpressed.

Catherine spoke up. "He's homeless, Gil. They stick to themselves and try not to bring any attention to themselves. Remember your friend Cassie?"

Grissom's lips quirked fractionally and he moved his attention back to the body. "Well, if he's been moved we need to see where he started off." He moved towards the dumpster, flashing his maglight. Catherine squatted down beside the body.

"I can't see any wounds. We'll have to wait for the coroner to flip him."

"Catherine. Come take a look at this."

She made her way behind the dumpster.

* * *

"So, it was a product introduction party or something?"

The smug expression seemed firmly entrenched in the man's features and it was beginning to get on Nick's nerves.

"Yeah. The party was to showcase some of our new technology. To show off the company's latest stokes of genius."

Nick flashed him his most insincere smile. "Fascinating. And now it's gone? This prototype you were talking about?"

"Yes. We hadn't even got to presenting it yet. We were still unveiling some other new products. It was going to be our piece de resistance, as it were. In all the hubbub with the dead body, we didn't even realize it was missing."

"And it was where, exactly?"

The man pointed to an empty pedestal behind them.

"OK, so it was behind our victim while he gave his presentation-"

"So, let me get this straight... It's a TV screen that you can roll up like a_ sheet of paper_? And you just plug it in with a USB port."

Greg was a little too interested in the technology for Nick's liking, especially when he was encouraging a man who'd just referred to his own colleague as "the dead body".

Stan Davis, the owner of the company, smiled even more smugly as he replied, much to Nick's amazement. He hadn't thought it possible. "Yes, that's correct. There have been others created, but ours is the first to be accessible to all other systems- computers and digital cable being the most obvious, but also video game systems, DVD players-"

"Yeah, because that's what the American people really need: _More_ access to TV." Nick was growing tired of this discussion. "I get the picture. A revolutionary device that'll be worth a fortune. Anybody in particular want to get their hands on this thing?"

"Who _wouldn'_t?" Greg added.

Nick gave him a blank stare and chose to ignore him. "Any disgruntled employees, rival companies... that sort of thing?"

O'Riley had moved in behind them and was listening intently as Davis responded. "_Of course_. The list is endless."

"Well for your sake, you better hope it has an end because I'm going to need that list. Pronto." O'Riley's face was it's usual picture of stoney inscrutability, and Davis finally seemed to look a bit uncomfortable under the man's gaze.

"OK, yeah. I'll...uh, I'll see what I can come up with."

"Good. Let's go down to the station where you'll be more comfotable." The stern detective gestured towards his car and Davis moved slowly in that direction, his idea of comfort clearly not aligned with the stalky detective's.

"I'll let you guys know what I dig up from the perfessor here."

"Thanks, man. Likewise." Nick looked back at Greg as O'Riley disappeared. "So, you want to run it?"

Greg rubbed his hands together and looked thoughtful. "OK, well... The crowd up on the balcony..." He gestured to the railed-in catwalk that ran completely around the top of the room where they now stood."... were checking out the presentation down here that Daniel Smythe was giving." He looked down at the blood stain that marked Smythe's last hurrah. "They all saw someone appear from somewhere behind Smythe and run across the room, heading into the back room; the one with no exit. When they looked back towards Smythe, he was on the floor clutching his side and gurgling blood. Some people ran down to help while the others watched from the upper deck but nobody saw the guy come out of the room."

"And nobody saw him stab the victim either."

"A diversion?"

"Maybe."

"Alright, then maybe the guy creates a diversion so somebody else can come up behind Smythe and steal the portable TV screen. He stabs Smythe and makes off with the screen while everyone's watching the man in black run across the room."

Nick nodded, having been thinking the same thing. "Then where did this diversionary dude go? He would have had to come back behind Smythe to get back out. Somebody would have seen him. But nobody did."

Greg looked as perplexed as Nick felt. "I scoured that room, man. There's no way out back there."

Nick let out a sigh. "And where did the little glass beads come from?"

* * *

Sara looked at the footprint under the microscope intently, thinking that by staring at the strange pattern she could figure out the style of the shoe before the computer beside her managed to process the information.

"Hey Sara."

She looked up from the scope to see Greg standing in the doorway.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Not much. Just waiting on a list from O'Riley and working on... you know, _stuff_."

Sara laughed. "Sometimes you're so technical, Greg. Maybe your I.Q.'s dropping since you got out of the DNA lab."

He gave her a superior smile. "My I.Q.'s still in the high digits, thank you very much. Not unlike your own, Miss Sidle."

Sara's brows went up in mild surprise. "Why thank you, Greg. I didn't think you'd noticed." She batted her eyelashes in mock-coyness and he smiled slyly.

"I notice lots of things."

She didn't know what to make of that, but before she could ask Greg spoke again.

"So, Sara... I was wondering if you'd like to join me for breakfast after shift today."

Normally Sara wouldn't have read too much into such a request, but something in his expression made Sara pause.

"Uh... Sure. I guess so." She really couldn't think of a reason to say no.

"Excellent. I'll see you later then."

"Yeah... I guess I will."

He disappeared from view and Sara wondered what she was getting herself into. The computer beeped its results beside her and pulled her from her reverie.

* * *

"You want to wait around for the results or-"

Greg looked surprised. "Oh, I thought we were done for today... I sort of have plans right after shift."

Nick smiled at his friend. No reason why one of them shouldn't have a life.

"That's cool, man. I have nothing planned and I sort of want to see what O'Riley finds anyway. This case is bugging me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But you sure it's cool? I mean, I could always-"

"No. No need for both of us to stay. I'm not going to hang around too long anyway."

"Alrighty then. I'll see you tonight."

"You got it."

Nick was making his way towards the PD wing when O'Riley appeared from around a corner.

"Stokes. I was just coming to see you. Mr. Wizard decided to lawyer up."

"What? Why? We're not arresting him... yet."

"You think he's involved? Maybe he's trying to scam for the insurance?"

"Who knows? I was hoping you'd come up with another direction for us."

"Well, apparently he wants to protect his _assets_, so he's taking his counsel's advice before he continues to _cooperate_."

Nick made a scoffing noise and shook his head. "Great. Well, looks like I'm outta here, then. I'll check back with you tonight."

Nick made his way back to the locker room and quickly unloaded his weapon and ditched his vest before making his way out to the parking lot. He wasn't quite to his car when he heard familiar voices from across the parking lot. He looked over to where Greg was opening his car door for a woman and helping her inside before he made his way around to the driver side. Nick climbed behind the wheel of his own SUV and grinned.

_Way to work it, Greggo_.

He watched as the car drove past and he tried to catch a glimpse inside at Greg's passenger, wondering who the _girl du jour_ might be.

His jaw almost hit the floor when he recognized the laughing woman sitting beside Greg.

_Sara?_


	3. Chapter 3

"So, how'd it go?"

Greg looked out of his locker at Nick, clipping on his ID badge as he did so. "How'd _what_ go?"

"Your date this morning." Nick's expression was one of polite curiosity.

"I never said it was a date." Greg tried for mysterious, but just came off looking shifty.

Nick merely shrugged and mumbled "Hmmm" as he put his gun in his holster. He was trying not to care about what he'd seen that morning, but for some inexplicable reason, he did. He had half a mind to push his young friend further, but Catherine's voice from the doorway interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey. Greg, Nicky. I need to chat with you guys. Can you meet me in Grissom's office when you're ready?"

Nick nodded and she disappeared down the hall. Greg closed his locker and hovered at the doorway, waiting for Nick.

"What do you think this is all about?"

Nick shrugged again and then grinned at Greg. "Maybe they're making you a supervisor."

* * *

They entered Grissom's office in the middle of one of his usual dialogues.

"_Inhuman_?" His brows were raised at Catherine. "It's interesting how we ascribe the atrocities of man against man to a lack of humanity, or being 'inhuman', when in fact the only creatures on this planet who torture and murder each other for the mere sake of killing are the humans. So actually it's all _too_ human to-"

Catherine grimaced. "Semantics, Gil."

"Yes but everything in life is about semantics. Everyone's perspective is-"

"If you tell me that's why you like dealing with _evidence_ over people again, I'm going to scream."

Greg felt a shimmer of amusement as he once more listened to Catherine argue so easily with a man who still managed to intimidate him on most occasions. Grissom merely looked at Catherine with a look of tolerance and decided to press on to more important matters.

"Nick, Greg... Your victim had small glass beads in his wound?"

Nick nodded.

"Well, so does ours. Knife wound in the back contained small glass beads."

Nick's brows went up. "What do you have so far on your vic?"

"Not much yet. He's not in AFIS and he doesn't fit any current missing persons."

"Did he die from the result of the stab wound?"

"Apparently so. He bled out slowly, but not entirely in the location where he was found."

Nick took a look at what they had and shook his head in wonderment. "They gotta be related. But how?"

Greg smiled and looked at Catherine. "I'll be right back with our file..."

* * *

Halfway through the second half of their double shift, Greg returned with dinner. As he and Nick sat munching burgers quietly in the staffroom, Nick felt his mind wandering uncontrollaby back to what he'd seen yesterday after shift. Maybe Greg had just been giving Sara a ride. Maybe she hadn't been who he'd had plans with at all.

"So, uh... Who's the new girl, Greg?"

Greg grinned into his burger. "I told you, I-"

"Yeah, yeah. Spill it."

Greg grinned even wider. "A gentleman never kisses and tells, Nick."

Nick felt suddenly impatient and had no idea why, which frustrated him even more. He quickly stifled it as he rose and threw his wrapper in the garbage. "Whatever, man."

As he disappeared out the door, Greg tried to puzzle out what Nick's problem was, but came up empty. He wanted to chalk it up to more post-traumatic stress and let it go as usual, but Nick had seemed a little more moody than he had been of late. Greg hoped he wasn't taking a downward turn now, after all this time.

* * *

The shift was coming to a close and Nick was nowhere to be found. Greg was almost relieved, if he was honest with himself. The guy's mood had gone from sullen to downright hostile during the shift.

He was just about to give up on him when he spotted Nick glued to a screen in the computer room. Making his way slowly across the room, he looked at the screen in front of Nick and read out loud.

"_'Glass beads, applications'_... They can be used to separate yeast? Who knew?" He read a few more of the categories and nodded. "Doing a little research?"

Nick sat back and rubbed his temples. "Thought it was worth a shot." He moved his neck around to get the stiffness out. "Where are we at?"

"Well, seems Sara and Warrick were investigating a sighting of someone with blood on their back not far from the alley where Grissom's vic was found. And it was the same day our vic was killed and the phantom disappeared with the new-style TV."

Nick nodded, yawning. "Interesting. Where's Warrick now?"

"Dunno. I don't think he's in yet."

Nick looked confused. "Then how'd you connect these two cases?"

"I was just talking to Sara and she mentioned their case near the alley."

Nick chewed the inside of his lip. "Sara's here already?" He looked at his watch, not surprised that she'd come in early. "Maybe I should track her down and-"

"Uh, no... she's not here. I was just talking to her on the phone."

Greg couldn't be certain, but he thought there was once again something a little intense about the way Nick was regarding him just then. But it seemed to pass and Nick logged off the internet and stood up, clearing his throat.

"I think we need to check out their report."

Greg lifted his hand and waved a file folder. "Way ahead of you, _pardner_."

Nick nodded approvingly and led the way down the hallway. "Let's see what we got."

* * *

"Hey Sara."

She was just climbing out of her car when she spotted Nick walking wearily across the parking lot towards her.

"Hey Nick. You pull a double?"

"Yeah... Bordering on a triple. I'm going home for a couple hours sleep and then I'm coming back."

"Uh... Cool."

She had been seconds away from telling him he needed his rest, but thankfully had stopped herself in time. She swallowed and quickly switched tack. "So, making any headway on the case?"

Smirking sightly, he half-shrugged. "Sort of, I guess. Slowly. And I think it may in fact be tied into your 'wounded man' sighting the other day."

"Yeah, when Greg told me about everything, something sort of tweaked in my mind."

"_Mmm hmm_. Well, anyway..." He started to move towards his own vehicle, but she'd caught a strange look before he'd turned away from her.

In hindsight, she later wished she had never asked her next question because it seemed to break a damn that had been filling up for some time, unbeknownst to her.

"Everything alright, Nick?"

He let out an exasperated sigh and his tone was harsh. "Jesus, Sara. When are you going to get it through your head I'm _fine_?"

Her eyebrows shot up at his vehemence and she started to defend herself. "Nick...This isn't about... I mean, you just looked like..." Despite her concerns, she felt her temper creeping up. "_Whatever_, _Nick_. Whatever."

She turned away and closed her back door, no longer feeling the need to explain that she'd merely been wondering at the expression on his face, not his mental health. And besides, all she'd ever been to him was _nice_, so if he didn't like it then he could screw off.

Her angry reverie was broken when she heard Nick's low voice behind her.

"Sara, maybe you should spend less time worrying about me and more time worrying about yourself."

She turned back to face him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It just means you probably don't want to be fucking up your career by sleeping with one of your co-workers."

He'd said it calmly, but she felt as if he'd just slapped her.

"_What?_"

His face was a stoney mask."You heard me."

She stood staring at him, momentarily at a loss for words.

_What the hell_...

For a moment she couldn't figure out if the man standing before her was the same man she'd worked with for thepast 5 years. One minute they're were chatting idly and the next...? Where all of this was coming from, she had no idea but the whole thing was disturbing her big time.

As he watched the shock registering in her eyes, Nick finally began to feel something other than his anger from a moment before. His insides began to churn as he felt the confusion overwhelming him.

_God, why am I doing this_?

But before he could even think about taking it all back, her eyes darkened. Her voice seemed deeper somehow when she finally spoke.

"Nick, I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but you're way out of line. And you know what? I _get_ it. I get that you're tired of being cared about." Her voice was rising in volume. "You want me to treat you like nothing happened? Like there wasn't a time when I was scared shitless that I wasn't ever going to see you again? Fine. You got it."

Her eyes had started to get watery which just made her angrier. The last thing she wanted was for him to mistake her anger for crying. She inhaled deeply and moved to walk past him but he grabbed her arm once she was beside him.

"Sara..."

She stopped moving,but didn't look at him, waiting.

"I shouldn't have..." He broke off as he noticed she was avoiding his gaze, the stubborn set of her chin making him annoyed again for reasons he couldn't pinpoint. He pulled slightly at her arm. "Dammit, Sara... look at me."

She still refused to look at him, unwilling to let him see the hurt she was positive was all too apparent in her eyes. She tried to pull her arm free, but he wouldn't release her so she spoke quietly.

"Let go, Nick. I've got to get to work."

Her own annoyance still simmering, she didn't feel like arguing any more.

_God, I don't even know what we're arguing about_.

He dropped her arm and stood back, watching grimly as she moved briskly away from him. Her long legs had moved her well out of earshot when Nick mumbled quietly, his eyes on the pavement.

"_I'm sorry, Sara_."

* * *

Greg flinched at Sara's snappy comment and she sighed.

"I'm sorry Greg... That was uncalled for. I guess I'm in a bit of a bad mood."

Greg snorted. "Step in line. I seem to be working with all the happy campers today."

She looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Nick was majorly mood swinging all shift. It made things a bit... challenging."

Sara leaned back against the display table, a lightbulb clicking on in her brain. "Huh. So it wasn't just me then..."

Greg was about to ask her what she meant when Warrick walked into the room.

"Sara, you and me got foot patrol."

"Huh?"

"We're going back to the haunted house, see if we can pick up the Grissom's dead guy's trail."

She nodded. "Right. OK, let's go. Later Greg." She was following Warrick out the door when she suddenly stopped and turned back to Greg.

"And I _am_ sorry, Greg. I shouldn't have snapped at you." She gave him a self-deprecating smile and he grinned back.

"No harm done, _buddy_."

She laughed and then disappeared out into the corridor.

* * *

Nick drove back to work after a few hours sleep feeling like a heel.

He couldn't believe the things he's said to Sara, and he knew he'd been more than a little grumpy with Greg as well. And all because he thought maybe something was going on between the two of them.

_So what?_ _What's it to me, anyway?_

As he parked and headed into the labs, he thought once more about what he'd said to Sara; that she could screw up her job by sleeping with a co-worker. It was crap and he knew it. People in theLVPD department dated all the time; lab techs, cops, and yes- even CSI's. So why he'd thrown that at her was beyond him.

_Am I jealous?_

He shook off the thought, smirking to himself. He couldn't believe that was what this was all about. He'd worked with these people forever; he couldn't imagine being jealous of them.

Then again, it had been a long time since he'd had a relationship. Hell, he hadn't even had sex in ages. And for a while there, he wouldn't have wanted to wish himself on any unsuspecting woman. He'd been more than a little messed up after the kidnapping, that much was for certain. Dating had been the last thing on his mind.

Maybe that was it. He was finally ready to reach out to someone, and the sight of his friends doing just that had made him jealous. Could that be it?

All he knew was, he really needed to apologize to Sara for what he'd said to her. She hadn't deserved any of it and he felt only shame now about the whole thing. Despite their occasional squabbles at work, she'd been nothing but a friend to him over the years. Especially after he'd come back to work after his ordeal. She'd been unbelievably considerate around him while at the same time, she hadn't coddled him like Catherine had, or acted uncomfortable around him like Greg and everyone else. Truthfully, Sara and Warrick had been there for him through it all, and had never asked for his gratitude.

He frowned. He'd certainly never given it to them. He rubbed uncomfortably at the back of his neck as he walked towards his locker.

_Why couldn't I see all this before?_

He put his hand against the cool metal of his locker door and stared at his lock, pensive.

_Probably because you've been trying so hard to prove to everyone that you're OK, you've forgotten how to be a friend_.

He opened his locker and started to pull out his gear, his thoughts taking on a new determination.

_Time to start being myself again_... _the man I used to be_.

He couldn't fight the worry that slipped through his brain unbidden: What if he wasn't the same man anymore? What if everything he'd been through had changed him forever? What if there was no turning back?

He shook his head to clear away the doubts and headed off to see how the case was progessing. And to see if he could find Sara Sidle and tell her he was sorry.


	4. Chapter 4

**OK, RECAP: **(Had to re-read the story myself in fact... I forgot what I was writing about! lol)

_Drama_...Dead bodies everywhere; Nick and Greg are on Daniel Smythe, a dead Techno wizard who worked for a guy named Stan Davis. Their case involves a 'phantom' dude and a missing revolutionary TV screen; Catherine and Grissom had a D.B. found in an alley that they think is linked to Nick and Greg's case- both bodies had small glass beads on them; lastly Sara and Warrick worked together on a strange sighting of a "white guy, possibly with blood on his back" but moved on when they found nothing.

_Romance... _Nick appears confused at what he thinks is a blossoming relationship between Greg and Sara, and has unfortunately spoken as much to Sara and (of course) pissed her off. Now he's full of regret (also, _of course_! lol )

* * *

"Hey Warrick...Uh, where you guys headed?" 

Nick wasn't expecting to see Sara so soon, and if the way she was avoiding his gaze was any indication, she still wasn't too impressed with him. He looked back to Warrick as he responded.

"We're going back to our suspicious bleeding-man's last location, see if we can link it to Grissom's D.B. And possibly yours too, by the sound of it."

Nick nodded, a bit distracted by the unpleasant vibes emanating from Sara. "Uh... cool. I'll catch you guys later."

Warrick nodded and headed down the hallway towards the parking lot, Sara close behind him.

Nick frowned.

_I guess my apology's gonna have to wait_.

* * *

Greg approached Nick carefully, uncertain of what mood to expect this time. 

"Hey Nick. Feeling rested?"

"Yeah, somewhat. Listen, I just talked to O'Riley. He's going to grab Stan Davis and meet us at the showroom. I want him to take us through what they had set up down there for their presentation."

"What are you hoping to find?"

"I don't know, yet. I just want to re-enact what Smythe was doing before he was killed."

"Yeah, right. OK, I'm driving."

Nick smirked. "I think not."

Greg pretended to be out out, but he was mostly just happy Nick seemed in an alright mood again. The two men headed out to Nick's Denali and drove back to the crime scene.

* * *

"Hey guys." 

"Catherine? What are you doing here?" Nick felt a tiny twinge of annoyance at the thought that they were being checked up on, but he quickly doused it. He was really going to have to get a handle on this paranoia one of these days.

"Well, I wanted to question Mr. Davis actually..." She faded out as she saw Davis moving in her direction. She approached him quickly, holding out a photo of the dead man from the alley. "Mr. Davis? I'm Catherine Willows, also from the Crime Lab. I need to ask you if you recognize this man." She showed him the picture and he made a sour face.

"Jesus. They're dropping like flies."

Catherine's brows went up and she looked bemusedly over the man's shoulder at Nick before questioning him. "So, you _do _know this man?"

"Yeah. His name's Robert Robitaille. He used to work for me."

Nick and Greg moved next to Catherine, intrigued by this new information. The senior CSI continued.

"_Used_ to work for you? As in until he ended up dead in an alley or...?"

Davis shook his head impatiently. "No, I fired him months ago. Or at least I tried to; it was one of those _'You can't fire me, I quit'_ deals. The guy was a pompous ass. A Frenchman. Fancied himself a bit of an artist, as well as some sort of technological design wizard, but his ego far outweighed his talents. Or his worth to my company."

"I take it his dismissal didn't go over too well?" Nick questioned.

"No, but it couldn't have been a shock to him. We'd barely gotten along from day one."

"Then why'd you hire him?"

"I didn't hire him. Daniel Smythe did."

Catherine's brows went up and she looked at Nick. "Your decedent?"

When Nick nodded she eyed Davis with interest. "Strange how two men who've both been in your employ at one time or another have both turned up dead, don't you think?"

Davis looked incensed. "Look, I came here to help you. If you're going to start hurling accusations, I'll just be calling my-"

"No need to get excited, Stan. Nobody's accusing you of anything." Nick jumped in, looking at Catherine warningly. He still needed the man's help before they went any further. Catherine looked unimpressed but said no more.

Nick went on. "We're finally getting somewhere here, so maybe you can help us tie things together a bit more. If you can just show us what Smythe had set up down here..." He trailed off, noting the stubborn set to the man's features.

Nick thought the guy was a total arrogant asshole, but they had no pysical evidence linking him to anything, and he told the man as much, once again leaving out the word "_yet_" at the end of the statement even though he was thinking it.

"Alright fine. But I'm only trying to help find my screen." Seeing the nonplussed faces of the three CSI's, Davis added, as if in afterthought, "And of course to find out what happened to those two men."

Catherine shook her head wearily and then made towards the exit, asking Nick to keep her posted as she went.

Greg looked back at Nick, waiting for him to take the lead. The two men wandered back to the displays and waited for Stan Davis to break it all down for them.

They hadn't been looking around for more than 10 minutes when Davis approached a display in confusion.

"What the... This shouldn't be down here."

Nick examined the equipment, noting some projectors and a mirror that was partially covered in a silver substance. "Oh no? Why's that?"

* * *

Grissom looked at the bloodstained knife, his eyes alight. "Nice work guys." 

Warrick sighed heavily. "Well, we wouldn't have even gone back there if you hadn't sent us back."

"Well, in the absence of a crime, you didn't know what to look for. This time you did."

Sara smiled. "And with any luck, we'll find a hidden stash filled with little glass beads."

Grissom nodded. "We can only hope."

The other three CSI's looked at him in surprise and he raised his eyebrows. "What?"

Sara smirked. "I just never thought of you as the type to rely on _hope_."

He smirked back. "There's always room for hope, Sara."

She looked surprised again and tilted her head in amusement. "_OK_, then... Well, anyway, I'm going to take this down to Neil and get him to check for prints. They're already comparing the blood to your D.B's."

"Mr. Robitaille." Catherine interjected.

"Huh?" Warrick looked confused.

"That's our D.B. He used to work with Nick and Greg's D.B., Daniel Smythe."

Warrick made a small whistling noise. "Man, we just keep coming back around in circles. Maybe we'll finally end up in the middle at some point."

Catherine looked at Grissom and grinned. "Let's _hope_."

* * *

Nick walked down the corridor with a new spring in his step. The case was finally coming together. He couldn't wait to see what everybody else had come up with because he could feel they were all finally getting closer to how everything linked together. 

A muffled giggle from the print lab caught his attention, and Nick slowed his steps as he neared the door.

Through the glass walls, he could see Sara standing close to Neil as they looked at some enlarged prints on the screen and she had a huge smile on her face. He felt his heart tug a little at the sight and he was just about to keep moving when Sara turned and saw him hovering there. The smile on her face slipped, making him feel guilty once again.

He was just making up his mind to approach her and try to apologize when she turned back to Neil, who had begun speaking to her again. Nick experienced a shimmer of dispeasure as he heard her laughing again.

He moved away from the wall and continued down the hallway.

* * *

"Nicky. What'd you come up with?" 

Nick was standing at the doorway of the "war room" and Grissom, Catherine and Warrick were pouring over evidence inside. Pictures of both D.B.'s and other photos were laid out before them.

Nick smiled, but his previous excitement seemed to have faded a little. He attempted to re-gather himself as he entered the room.

"Well, as a matter of fact, seems that the late Mr. Smythe had some things set up for the show that Stan Davis knew nothing about. Some technology that was not only out of place, but also not owned by Davis or the company. Or so he claims. O'Riley's checking that out."

Grissom looked curious and Nick went on. "Anyway, Greg's doing a little more research on the net for me, but I think we're on to something regarding our phantom. I think your D.B., Robitaille, may have been our phantom. And the one who killed Daniel Smythe."

He began to explain that through use of a projector, a digital camera and a specialized mirror, you could simulate invisibility to a certain degree.

Once the word_ invisibility_ passed his lips however, the skepticism entered the room.

"Invisibility? You can't be serious." Warrick lips twitched in disbelief and Catherine looked equally skeptical beside him. Nick countered them quickly.

"I said _to a certain degree_. If you looked closely, you could still probably see the person's outline. It's a bit complicated but the jist of it is this..." Nick hunched over the table and, grabbing a pencil and some paper began to make a diagram. "You take a digital video camera and set it to capture a background in a room, like a wall or something. Then you hook that up to a computer..." He drew a line linking the camera to the computer."...which in turn is hooked to a projector at some distance away from the digital camera, but is basically pointed at the same wall that it's capturing. The projector takes the background received from the digital camera and projects it upward at a silvered mirror, which then bounces the image back towards the original background itself."

The diagram took on a square shape, and as they all tried to wrap their minds around what they were looking at, Grissom finally asked the key question.

"So where's the invisible guy fit into this scenario."

Nick was about to continue when he saw Sara and Greg coming into the room together, Sara leaning close to Greg as she looked at the papers in his hand, and smiling at something he was whispering into her ear. Distracted by a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, he turned away from the new arrivals and back towards Grissom, who was looking at him questioningly. When Nick merely stared at him blankly and still didn't continue, Grissom prompted him.

"Nick?"

Nick's eyebrows arched. "Yeah?"

"The invisible man?"

Nick felt Sara's eyes on him from the doorway and he looked at the floor awkwardly and cleared his throat before leaning over the diagram once more.

"Right... Um, yeah... The uh... OK, the invisibility comes from standing in front of the wall being captured, but _between_ the camera and the mirrored projection,and wearing a special cloak." He drew an "_X_" in the middle of the square and then looked furtively toward Greg. He found he was unable to look the younger man in the eye just then, so he looked back at his other colleagues. "Something tweaked in my mind, so I had Greg go check out something I saw on the internet the other day..."

Greg waved the papers in his hands, smiling knowingly. He opened his mouth to elaborate, but Grissom interrupted.

"Let me guess. This cloak would involve the usage of very small glass beads... probably to reflect back the background image projected through the silvered mirror."

Greg eyed the man in surprise, but Nick just grinned and nodded. They weren't the number 2 lab in the country for no reason. There were a lot of sharp minds around the place, and Grissom was arguably the smartest man he'd ever known.

"Yep. Basically, a cloak covered in these little glass beads reflects the image back from the mirror, in effect masking the person for the most part and giving him the appearance of being part of the background. It's not flawless, but in a darkened room, and from the distance everyone would have been watching from the balcony..."

Sara was amazed, and for a moment forgot that she was still angry with Nick. "You cannot be serious? An _'invisibilty cloak'? _Like that one... like in..."

Catherine finished it for her. "Harry Potter."

When everyone looked at her with amusement, she shrugged. "What? I have a 12 year old daughter."

Greg winked at her as if to say "Yeah, _sure_." She shook her head, smiling as Grissom worked it through.

"OK, so we possibly have Robitaille cloaked at this presentation... which means that Daniel Smythe would have had to be in on it, since everything would have had to be set up beforehand, and he was doing the presentations."

Nick nodded. "Right. I was thinking maybe they planned to steal this TV thing out from under their slimy boss's nose. They probably stayed in touch after Robitalle was fired."

Sara frowned. "Unless the slimy boss was in on it too... maybe for insurance claim purposes? Cash in on the policy _and _keep the profits from the sales later."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, we were thinking that might be a possibility too. We're checking it out."

Sara voiced her next question. "But why do it when a whole crowd of people are watching? Why not slip it out before or after the show, or at some other time?"

Nick shrugged. "Well, Stan Davis claims Robitaille thought of himself as a techno genius with an artistic flare... maybe he wanted the challenge of pulling it off."

Catherine nodded. "And plus, it probably would have been difficult to make off with the thing at another time without creating suspicion. They would have assumed the thief would have had to have been assisted by someone inside the company."

Sara continued. "Yeah, this way, everything's shrouded in mystery... Daniel Smythe was in plain sight of an entire room of people the whole time, so he would be above suspicion. They would check out whomever helped them set it up but probably find nothing out of the ordinary...And if the boss, Davis, was involved, he's off the hook too."

She looked at Nick intently as she spoke and he he felt himself swallowing involuntarily. For a moment there, they'd gotten back into the groove of their working relationship, but he felt himself faltering again.

_Man, what the hell is wrong with me_? _I gotta snap out of this, whatever it is_.

He nodded and looked away again. Just as he was beginning to feel the need to get out of there, Grissom posed another question.

"One thing remains, however: Where does your black phantom fit in? Even if this person was in effect 'camouflaged', if people could see a black outline going in, it follows that they would have also had to see a black outline coming out, as well."

Greg made an educated guess. "Well, maybe after he went into the room, the crowd noticed Smythe on the floor and were so distracted they didn't see him slip back out."

Grissom looked skeptical. "Possibly. But what reason could he have for delaying his escape by going into an empty room?"

"Maybe there was something in it besides ugly shag carpeting- something he took with him when he left?" Greg postulated.

Nick pursed his lips. "The bottom line is we don't know... _yet_. We're still working on thwe while scenario. I've had all the equipment shipped over here and Greg and I are going to go through it all, with Archie's help."

Grissom gave him a tight smile. "OK. Keep me in the loop."

"You got it."

Nick turned as everyone was leaving the room, hoping to catch Sara's eye again, but all he saw was her back as she followed Greg into the hallway. Their sudden laughterdrifted back to him like nails on a chalkboard.

He clenched his jaw in frustration and gathered up his notes.


	5. Chapter 5

"Why didn't they have any video cameras monitoring the room if it was full of all this expensive, revolutionary equipment?"

Greg smiled at Sara. "Have I ever told you how much I love your mind? Always questioning-"

"_Greg_. I thought we'd already covered this ground." Sara looked unimpressed, and Greg raised his hands in defense.

"Hey, I don't recall discussing anything about me not being the charming rogue that everyone, including you, has come to love..."

Sara smiled despite herself, and Greg turned to grin back. "Farewell lovely maiden. I'm off to solve the case!"

Sara laughed openly as Greg pretty much strutted down the hallway. She turned to go the other way and found herself face to face with Nick and she stopped short. She couldn't read the look on his face at all, so she said his name in terse acknowledgement and began to walk around him.

"Sara, wait. I need to talk to-"

She kept walking, tossing a dismissal over her shoulder as she disappeared around the corner.

"No time right now. My print's are done."

And she was gone again.

Nick shook his head and stared at the floor, frustrated.

_Man, she's stubborn_.

Then again, so was he...

* * *

"So actually, I pulled two prints off the knife."

Sara was about to quiz Neil further when she saw Nick enter the room and move up beside the display screen they were looking at.

Neil nodded at him. "Hey man."

Nick nodded back. "Hey. Whatcha got here?"

"Well, I was just telling Sara there are a lot of smeared, unidentifiable prints, but I managed to pull two decent ones. One belongs to your dead guy... and the other belongs to Grissom's."

Nick's brows went up and Sara felt her mild annoyance being replaced by curiosity. She looked down at the prints, frowning in concentration as she saw the names displayed on the terminal. "Really? Both our D.B.'s? That's... interesting."

Nick rubbed at the back of his neck. "What sort of placement are we looking at here, Neil?"

"One print- Mr. Robitaille's forefinger- was placed here..." He showed the two of them a simulated version of the handle of the knife, and where the print roughly rested. "...and then Smythe's thumb print was just a bit further up the handle on the same side."

Sara gripped a pen in her hand. "So if Robitaille snuck into the room and instead of just stealing the screen, decided to stab Smythe and keep the goods for himself..."

"His fingerprint would make sense right there." Nick finished for her, and gripped the pen over top of her hand to demonstrate. Frowning, she pulled it away and continuing their re-enactment, she feigned stabbing him in the side, a grim look on her face.

"Yeah, and the entry wound angle would work too, with this grip on the knife."

Mildly amused at her manoeuvering, Nick only nodded. Then he looked at Smythe's name on the screen, his mind working.

"Ok, but then the position of Smythe's print..." He placed his hand once more over Sara's and gently extricated the pen from her fingers, ignoring both the look of discomfort on Sara's face and the tingle of awareness in his own fingers. Placing the pen against himself, he gripped the pen as though he were pulling a knife out of his own side. "If he was pulling it out of himself, why isn't the print down here, near the hilt?"

"Well, like I said, there are lots of smeared prints-" Neil tried to suggest, but Sara cut him off.

"Unless he was the one to stab Robitaille." She looked at both men, a speculative gleam in her eye.

Nick nodded slightly. "OK... OK, I see where you're heading. Robitaille takes the screen while the crowd is distracted, and Smythe lets him take it because they're in cahoots. Except Robitaille thinks maybe he just wants it for himself, so he pulls the knife and stabs Smythe. Then he turns to escape, but Smythe pulls the knife out from his own side and stabs Robitaille before dying himself."

Sara frowned at Nick's re-enactment. The way he held the knife was correct to approximate where the print was located, but judging by the height of the two men, the angle of entry and the location didn't work. "Except the stab wound on Robitaille's back was lower down, and angled upward."

Nick paused, thinking for a second. Before Sara's eyes, a sparkle entered his eyes and she couldn't deny the look of pleasure on his face was contagious. She still fought to minimize her own grin, though, before asking,"What?"

"Smythe had just been stabbed. So after he managed to pull the knife out of himself..." He hunched over and Sara couldn't stop herself from smiling wider as she finished the thought for him.

"He would have been stooped over, and his thrust would have been going at an upward angle."

Nick demonstrated her last point, thrusting the pen towards Neil's lower back. "Exactly."

She had to admit it was feasible. "I think we may have something here."

Nick smiled at her amiably. "Yes, ma'am, I believe we do. Seems one good stab in the back deserves another."

Staring back into his face and noting his excited expression, Sara found herself longing to forget about what he'd said to her earlier and just move on, let bygones be bygones.

But something inside her wouldn't allow it, and even though she knew she was probably being unreasonable, she hardened herself once more and nodded at the two men, not addressing either one of them directly.

"Well, looks like you've got this all in hand. I've got to head back to the house where we found the knife again and look for an _'invisibility cloak'_. See ya."

She turned and left the room quickly, leaving Nick feeling slightly bereft and Neil more than a little confused. The print tech looked at the CSI with a questioning glance.

"Did I just miss something there?"

Nick just shrugged and mumbled, "I don't know... Don't worry about it," as he moved towards the door himself.

He stopped before leaving the room and turned to Neil, his job here not completely forgotten after all.

"Neil, did you find any glass beads or particles on the knife?"

The other man nodded in the positive. "Yeah, I found something wedged into the handle, but I kicked it to Trace."

"Thanks, man."

Nick sprinted back down the hall and burst out the side doors, eyes moving back and forth across the dark parking lot looking for Sara, hoping he hadn't missed her.

He saw her moving quickly across the lot and she'd almost reached her vehicle by the time he'd trotted up behind her.

"Sara."

She slowed her pace, but didn't stop walking.

"I have to get back to the house, Nick. I don't have time to talk."

"It's about the case." It wasn't a _complete_ lie, he rationalized.

She had reached her SUV by then and she turned towards him as she reached into her pocket for her car keys. "OK fine. What do you have?"

"Neil said there some trace jammed in the hilt of the knife- I'm betting on glass from the beads."

Sara looked unimpressed. "That's great, Nick, but I hardly think you needed to track me down out here to tell me that now."

He chewed his bottom lip. "Well, I also wanted to talk to you... about what happened earlier. About what I said."

She sighed wearily and hit the unlocking mechanism for her doors. As the beep sounded, she turned towards her door handle. "Yeah, well... I don't happen to feel like talking about it right now so-"

"Sara, how is it you can worry about me when I don't need it, but when I _want _your attention, you..." He trailed off, a frustrated stream of air issuing from his lips.

She turned back to him again, her exasperated tone matching the disbelief in her eyes. She moved to stand face to face with him.

"So let me get this straight. First I'm caring _too much_, and then I'm not caring _enough_?" She was incredulous. "Nick, why don't you just go ahead and tell me what exactly it is I'm supposed to be doing here because obviously I don't have a clue. What do you want from me?"

He was taken aback by her anger, but he supposed he deserved it. He looked down for a moment, trying to collect himself before he looked back into her face again.

"I... I guess I just want you to stop looking at me like... I need you to stop acting like I'm _broken_, Sara. I want you to..." He faded out again, uncertain how to finish the sentence. Face to face like this, staring into each other's eyes, he felt confused and vaguely on edge.

Her eyes were shining with frustration. "_What_, Nick? What do you want from me?"

He swallowed heavily and stumbled to complete a thought. "I..."

And before either of them knew what was happening, he pushed himself against her and pressed his lips roughly against hers, forcing her back against her Denali.

His mouth was crushing and possessive and his hands clutched at her shoulders, pulling her against him. The taste of her was like an intoxicant and all he wanted was more and more...

And then his pager began to beep in his vest pocket and snapped him out of the fantasy. He quickly remembered where he was again. And _what he was doing_.

He moved back and regarded her shocked expression, his own eyes revealing a similar state of confusion.

"Oh, my god... Sara... I..." He shook his head as if to clear it, and his hands were in front of him in a warding-off gesture. Sara was speechless and remained in an obviously shocked silence, staring back at him as the emotions continued to roll across his features. He tried to get a hold of himself.

"_Sara_. I... I only wanted to apologize to you for what I said before, and now I... _Jesus_. _What am I doing_?" His eyes were getting watery and with a look of pain on his face, he groaned out, "God, Sara... I'm _so sorry_," before turning and hurrying back towards the lab building.

Sara watched him go, and then remained leaning against her Denali for a few more moments, touching her lips with her fingertips in wonder and bewilderment. She was having more than a little difficulty processing what had just happened. When her heartbeat had finally slowed down, she climbed behind the wheel and stared out the windshield at the LVPD buildings.

She wondered why, of all the emotions she was experiencing just then, the strongest one was of disappointment.


	6. Chapter 6

_She could have me arrested_. _I assaulted her_. _I assaulted Sara in the parking lot of the Las Vegas Police Department_. 

Nick ran his fingers through his hair in agitation as he made his way down the Forensics corridors. His heart was still pounding in response to the enormity of his actions.

_In the very least_, _she could have me fired_.

A hacking cough from behind startled him and he jumped in surprise. Turning quickly, he regarded O'Riley with wide eyes. "Damn, O'Riley... You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry, Nick. I think I caught Vega's bug. It's sweeping through the PD right now. You better figure out the evidence on your case soon, or you may find yourself with _another _new detective taking over."

"Right, well... We're working on it. In fact..." Nick finally looked at his pager and felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn't even looked at the page that had interrupted his assault on Sara yet, and _of course_ it was from Greg, her possible new boyfriend.

Fighting back a grimace, he moved past the burly detective and started towards the A/V lab. "Greg and Archie have something for me. You coming?"

O'Riley smothered another cough. "Right behind you."

The two men ambled down the hallway, both uncomfortable, but for vastly different reasons.

* * *

Sara clutched her steering wheel for a moment after she shut down the engine, her mind still a whirling dervish of thoughts.

_Nick kissed me_.

No matter how hard she tried, the words wouldn't jibe with the world she'd known up until this point. The whole thing made no sense.

_He kissed me_.

She fought backa re-emerging blush and climbed out of her Denali. She'd spent the entire drive over running through the incident in her mind, and was no closer to comprehending it than when she'd started.

_First he tells me not to mess up my career by sleeping with a co-worker, and then he kisses me himself_.

She stopped and stared at the old house in front of her but wasn't really seeing it. She rubbed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Taking a deep breath, she headed up the front steps.

Once inside the abandoned house, she followed the noises issuing from somewhere in the basement and discovered Warrick rifling through a bunch of junk in the basement.

"Any luck?"

Warrick jumped and Sara couldn't help but grin.

"_Damn_, woman... you almost scared the mojo right out of me." He stood up shaking his head.

"Yeah, well... just remember that the next time I get scared by a spider, alright?"

He smirked back at her and shook his head again, this time in amusement.

"So, you find anything?"

"Old Playboys... and old Play_girls_."

"It's nice to see equal opportunity porn."

"I think it would actually be classified as erotica..."

Unwilling to let her mind head in that direction right now, she cut short the current trend in the conversation. "Anything else?

"Tons of assorted crap that's not even good enough for the city dump."

"No glass beads?"

"Nope."

"No invisibility cloak?"

"_Double_ nope. How about you? Any prints on the knife?"

She gave him the lowdown on the knife and then headed back upstairs to comb over the other rooms, hoping they got lucky and found something else to assist in the investigation. It had been dragging on for days and they all wanted to be done with it.

She grimaced as she looked around the living room, having forgotten what a mess the place was. There was no telling how many people had squatted in the place at one time or another. She had her work cut out for her.

She just hoped it would be enough to keep her mind off what had happened earlier...

* * *

"So whatcha got?"

Nick strolled casually into the A/V lab feeling _anything_ but. He tried to focus on the task at hand and ignore the occasional anxious tingling that would start up in his stomach.

Greg smiled widely. "Archie and I found gold."

Nick's eyebrows went up. "Yeah?" He looked back and forth between the two smiling young men. "Talk to me."

Archie went over to the area where they'd set up the video equipment in a simulaton of how it had appeared at the show opener. "Well, when we set everything up, we found that we had an extra digital projector that didn't seem to serve any particular purpose. Fortunately, Greg managed to knock it off the table and it switched on-"

"Hey! It was an accident! And look at all the accidents that have led to great things. Newton and the apple..." Greg trailed off as his diatribe seemed to be falling on deaf ears.

O'Riley was feeling too ill to be amused and Nick's mind was too preoccupied to pay him much attention. He looked back at Archie. "And?"

Archie nodded triumphantly. "And check this out."

The handsome young A/V tech flipped a switch and directed their attention towards the wall behind him...

And a shadowy black figure made its way across the room and then disappeared.

Nick's jaw dropped. "You've gotta be kidding me. Our _phantom_?"

Archie laughed. "Yep. Crazy, isn't it."

O'Riley hit the play button on the projector again and followed the progress of the dark figure once more. "Huh, go figure: Smoke and mirrors."

Nick finally smiled at his colleagues. "Nice work you guys." He lookedback at Greg and tried to sound more lighthearted than he felt. "No matter how you happened upon it."

One side of Greg's mouth quirked up. "So... Should we tell Grissom what we have now?"

Nick pulled out his pager. "Yep. Let's track him down."

* * *

Sara finished off the bedroom and then made her way over to the room Warrick was just finishing off.

"I got nothing."

He stood up and rubbed his gloved hands together to get rid of the dust. "Yeah, same here. I think this place is a dead end. No pun intended."

She moved into the room and looked around. "Whatever Robitaille did with that cloak, he didn't leave it here... at least-"

"Wait a minute, Sara." Warrick moved to where she stood. "Step back again."

She moved backwards, and the floorboard creaked beneath her weight. She looked down at the wooden floor. "This board is warped... and looks like it's been loosened."

Warrick hunched down and pulled out his pen knife. He pried at the board and after a minute, slid his fingers underneath and pulled the board up. Sara shone her maglight down into the space and something sparkled back up at them. Warrick looked up at her and smiled.

"Tricky bastard hid it under the floor. That's _old school_."

Sara crouched beside him and pulled out her camera, taking a couple of shots. "Let's see what else we have in here..."

They found a t-shirt, a pair of pants, shoes, socks and a watch in the bottom of the hidden cubby hole and bagged it all for evidence. After another few photos, they made their way outside to their vehicles. Warrick whistled appreciatively.

"Nicky boy is going to love us. We just made his pretty theory a reality."

With the mention of Nick, Sara's mind quickly reverted back to its earlier state of disquiet, and her heart was suddenly pounding again. When she didn't reply to his comment, Warrick looked back at her from the door of his SUV.

"Sar? You look flushed- you OK?"

She licked her lips nervously and forced a lightness into her tone. "Yeah, I'm good... Just getting tired I guess. Let's get this stuff back to the labs and see if we can finally finish off this case."

"I hear that. Meet you back there."

Sara once again found herself frozen behind the wheel of her vehicle.

_C'mon Sara_. _You're going to have to face him again sooner or later_. _Might as well be sooner_.

* * *

Grissom watched the projection of the "phantom", his mouth quirked in a bemused grin. "Simple, yet effective. Distract people from the distraction."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, just in case the 'invisibility cloak' wasn't quite flawless, they created yet another diversion to take up the slack."

Catherine smirked. "I guess you can never be too safe when you're pulling off a heist. So have we gotten the prints back from the equipment yet?"

"They're in the line up with Neil. He's getting innundated with stuff right now, thanks to that bank robbery days is dealing with." Greg replied. "He's going to page me with the results."

"Good." Grissom watched the phantom slink across the wall again. "Well, all we're missing now is the elusive cloak."

"Sounds like my cue to save the day." Warrick walked into the room, the evidence bag with the beaded suit inside. He flashed a smug grin at everyone. "Where would you all be without me."

Grissom looked at the bag and smiled. "Nice work, Warrick. Let's see it."

Everyone hunched around the table as he pulled it out of the bag. Sara took advantage of the distraction and snuck into the room unbidden. She hovered near the door while everyone examined the new evidence.

"Looks more like a suit to me." Catherine examined the 'legs" and started stretching the material out for a proper look. The whole thing looked like a bad movie space-suit, with a shiny white background covered by tiny, reflective glass beads.

"Yeah, and here's the zipper in the back... right by the bloodstain." Greg was putting on his gloves as he spoke. He reached down and gently moved the material. "Once we see the knife results, maybe we can match-"

"Nick and I already did a sort of manual simulation. Judging by our speculation on how it went down, that's a feasible location for the knife wound." Sara broke her silence from her place from the door, and all eyes looked at her for a moment before almost all of them nodded and returned their attentions to the suit again.

But one pair of eyes stayed on hers. She swallowed nervously and tried to look unaffected as he continued to stare at her. His face remained calm, but she could see a couple different things flickering behind his eyes and she finally had to look away.

_OK, maybe wanting to face him sooner rather than later wasn't the best idea after all_.

Sensing the futility of trying to convince her he was sorry merely by staring at her, Nick looked back down at the evidence table. Sara watched him from the corner of her eye and felt her heart begin to beat erratically again. He looked so troubled...

Again she felt disappointed, but the source of the feeling was confusing her.

In reality, she should have been comforted that he looked completely ashamed of himself, and obviously had nothing but regret about having forced himself on her. But it didn't make her feel better at all. In fact, she was surprised to find that she felt somewhat _rejected_.

Nick happened to glance up again and caught a glimpse of something in Sara's eyes that cut him to the quick. Pain. She'd looked hurt. And it was because of him. He'd done it to her.

At Nick's quick glance, she'd tried to quickly hide her feelings again, and she looked at the sparkling garment on the evidence table. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to move closer to the table and join everyone else. She rationalized that she'd already examined the garment briefly at the house, so she didn't need to check it out again right then.

Grissom's voice broke her reverie. "I think someone should go and have another chat with Stan Davis. See if he knows anything about this suit." He looked towards Warrick and began to speak. "Maybe a fresh face will get him to-"

"I'll do it."

Sara spoke up quickly and noticed Nick's mouth formed more of a grimace than before, but he didn't look at her as she continued. "I... I just saw O'Riley down the hall, so I'll go round him up and head over there."

Grissom nodded. "Good. Let us know if you find anything."

She nodded briefly in reply and moved down the hall in serach of the burly detective, but her mind was still on other things.

The kiss.

_Why can't I get it out of my mind?_

Clearly Nick was embarrassed it had even happened, and she should just let it go. He made a mistake, nothing more.

_But_...

She couldn't help but feel that, if ever he needed her understanding, it was now. Whether he admitted it or not, things were clearly not _OK_ with him, no matter what he said. The look on his face after it had happened had been enough to show her how confused he was at his own actions. And then his obvious discomfort just moments ago in the A/V lab...

And her feelings of disappointment were only growing stronger.

But the truth of the matter was, the thing that had her brain spinning right now... the thing that was confusing and confounding her was the fact that she felt letdown because Nick had _stopped kissing her_ when he did.

She'd recognized almost immediately that he'd broken off the kiss _just _when she had realized she desperately wanted to kiss him back.


	7. Chapter 7

Sara sat in the parking lot waiting for O'Riley to show up. He'd told her he was stopping to buy a decongestant, but it shouldn't be taking him this long. There were a million drug stores between the LVPD and Stan Davis' offices. 

She sighed heavily.

_Or maybe this is just giving me too much time alone with my thoughts_.

And that was a place where she definitely didn't want to be right now. How had this all happened? _One_ kiss and she was smitten? Could it really have been that easy?

She rubbed her forehead wearily, knowing deep down that she was kidding herself.

Obviously, she'd always found Nick Stokes to be attractive; who wouldn't? He was about as hot as they come, and just a great guy all round when it came right down to it.

She was always amazed when she'd think she had him pinned down into one type, and he'd turn around and surprise her with some new facet to his personality. She couldn't help but think it benefited him immensely on the job as well when people saw this good looking, all-American looking guy and figured that was all there was to him. Time and time again, he would surprise people with his hidden depths. And most of the time, the bad guys had never seen it coming. This last thought made her smile; she couldn't deny she was more and more impressed by him the longer she knew him.

But perhaps most importantly, he'd always been a friend to her, even when they were in total disagreement over things at work. Still, he never held a grudge and she'd always felt that he'd be watching her back if she ever needed him.

And the truth was, she knew these "_new_" feelings weren't new at all. In fact, they'd been coming on so slowly and subtly that she almost hadn't recognized them for what they were... At least not until Nick had been kidnapped. When they'd first found out he was missing, she could now recognize that the ache in her heart had been much more agonizing than she should normally have felt for a colleague, even if he was a close friend as well.

But back then she'd denied it.

She'd probably only thought about him "_that_ way"once in the time since the kidnapping, and it had been a fleeting thought of "Yeah, _right_. Nick would never go for me."

But then he'd kissed her, and suddenly all bets were off.

When his lips crushed hers, the feelings had all came rushing back to the surface and she'd found herself a fraction of a second away from revealing her hand to him, and letting herself revel in the kiss...

Although judging from how things had turned out, she'd clearly been right all along. From the look on Nick's face immediately afterward, he had regretted it. It had just been a momentary lack of good judgement on his part and he was obviously still hiding a lot of internal issues, whether he wanted to admit it or not. The best, kindest thing she could do right now would be to let him off the hook, and let him know she-

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Stan Davis exiting a side door and heading over to the dumpster with a garbage bag.

_Hello_._ What have we here?_

He dumped the bag over the side, and a few shredded looking papers fluttered out of the bag before slipping into the large bin. Davis looked around warily, then turned and went back inside.

Sara waited to see if he came back out with more garbage to dump, and when he didn't appear for several minutes, she looked back at the entrance to the parking lot and furrowed her brow. Where the hell was O'Riley?

With her mind currently in this bizarre state of emotional unrest, her patience was practically non-existent. She put her hand down on her gun to reassure herself it was still there and climbed out of her vehicle. Taking one last look around for O'Riley, she snuck stealthily over to the side of the building and moved to the corner closest to the side door and the garbage bin. She peeked around the corner to see if she would be visible to anyone while she examined the garbage. There were two windows facing in that direction, but they both had their blinds closed. And none of the other offices could view this area; it was only visible from the part of the parking lot where her SUV was sitting. She crept slowly over to the bin and peeked over the side.

The garbage bag was right on top of a large pile of other waste materials, and she would have no difficulty extracting the bag if she moved over to the other side. She pulled her gloves out of her pocket and inched around the bin so she could grab the bag and head back to her vehicle. Reaching for the bag, her nostrils were assaulted by an unpleasant odor from somewhere within and she grimaced as she leaned a little further forward.

Her long arms had just about grasped the top of the bag when she felt a hand moving at her waist and she drew back in surprise to see Stan Davis levelling her own gun at her.

"Not a word. You're coming with me." He trained the gun on her while he gestured towards the open door behind him. "Move. _Now_."

Sara's mouth went dry and she moved past Davis and through the doorway. A long and empty hallway stretched ahead of her and she gulped nervously.

"You know I'm with the LVPD, right? You don't want to be doing this-"

He moved in front of her quickly and pointed the gun at her chest, his eyes following the barrel to her name patch. "I can read, Ms. Sidle. I saw you sitting in your Crime Lab truck as well." He grabbed her arm and forced her down the hall. "And I told you not to speak. Next time, I'll knock you out..." She felt the gun push into her back. "...or _worse_."

Biting down on her fear, Sara pursed her lips and moved down the hall at his urging. He jerked her arm back when they'd reached a set of large wooden doors.

"Open it."

She did as instructed and he pushed her inside, following closely. She heard the doors close behind them and felt her chances of O'Riley arriving at just that moment and saving the day slipping away.

* * *

"O'Riley? You just getting here, man? Sara left the lab half an hour ago."

The older man was just climbing out of his car, popping a cough drop. "Yeah. I'm dying. I stopped for some drugs."

Nick looked around and noted Sara's SUV, but no Sara. "Where is she?"

O'Riley did a similar scan of the scene and shrugged. "Don't know. She knows better than to go inside alone, though. Maybe she popped over to the 7-Eleven or something." He nodded towards the convenience store across the street. "What are you doing here anyway, Stokes?"

Nick was distracted by a sense of unease and didn't respond right away. He tried to see into the store across the street, but it was too far away. O'Riley had to repeat his question.

"Huh? Oh, yeah- well, since you found out that other projector is registered to Stan Davis and we just found his prints on it too, we need to ask him a few more questions." He looked around again. "Man, where _is _she?"

He looked down at the gun at his side and then at the sleek building in front of them. "Let's go in, O'Riley."

Not mistaking the look in Nick's eyes, the heavyset officer moved past him. "You know the drill, Nick. You're behind me if there's clearing to be done."

"Fine with me, but I just hope you're alert enough, what with all the cold medication you're on."

"Don't worry about it. Let's go."

They went through the front doors and followed the signs towards Stan Davis' office. A poised receptionist wearing a high tech headset sat behind the counter. "May I help you?"

"We're here to see Stan Davis."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but-"

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Davis has asked not to be disturbed this afternoon, but if you'd like to leave your-"

O'Riley pointed to his badge. "You see this? I'm a popular guy. People _want _to see me."

"Oh, I... Well, just a moment and I'll call him."

"Wait a sec. Before you call him, did another investigator come in here not long ago? Tall, slim woman, with brown hair?"

She shook her head in the negative, and then watched them uncomfortably as she dialed Davis' line and waited. Nick took some comfort in the fact that Sara hadn't tried to come in here and talk to Davis herself.

_But then where the hell is she?_

He was thinking of calling her on her cell phone when the receptionist's voice broke into his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, he's not answering so he's obviously stepped out. I know he's been taking some things out to his car, so he may be running errands."

"Well, since we're here, we'll just take a walk back and see if we can't find him somewhere, probably playing with the photocopier or something." She watched helplessly as O'Riley smirked his version of a smile and the two of them waltzed past her and through the doors to the offices.

A long corridor with a seemingly endless number of offices stretched on in front of them, but from the sounds of things not a lot of people were working that day.

"Hmmm. Lots of offices with just boxes. Think they're moving locations?" O'Riley poked his head through one door quickly.

"Or shutting down shop." Nick felt that uneasy tingle in the back of his mind returning again but he tried to stay focused. They kept moving along, reading the occasional name plaques that appeared beside doors until they finally found a live person. Nick stepped just inside the open office and cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, we're looking for Stan Davis. Can you tell us which office is his?"

The young man got up, moved to the doorway beside them and gestured down the hall. "That way, second from the end on your left."

Nick nodded. "OK, thanks. Oh and hey- can you tell us why so many of these offices are empty?"

The young man shrugged noncommitally and closed his door. One of O'Riley's eyebrows quirked up. "Helpful fellow."

Nick grimaced and they moved back down the hallway.

* * *

"Greta, I told you I'm not to be disturbed! If my phone rings one more-" He broke off and Sara watched as he looked furtively towards the door. "When? OK." He hung up and looked at Sara.

"Apparently I have guests. That's not a good thing, I'm afraid."

Sara swallowed nervously and continued to watch his gun as he came towards her again.

* * *

Nick rapped on the door and O'Riley called out, "Mr. Davis? Detective O'Riley from the LVPD. And I have Nick Stokes from the crime lab. Can we speak with you for a moment?"

There was no sound from within, so O'Riley called out again. Still no answer.

The detective shrugged and put his hand on the doorknob. "We're coming in, Mr. Davis, if you're in there."

O'Riley didn't draw his firearm, but his hand was on it as he made his way inside and and checked out the room. Nick stood in the doorway, his hand on his own gun, waiting for the detective to give him the all clear.

The detective re-emerged from a door off the side of the room. "Nobody home."

Nick walked inside and looked around. One side of the desk was fairly tidy, with a small pile of papers neatly piled. Not so tidy was the cluster of loose discs in a pile near a high end laptop computer. He'd love to have a look at those...

"Well, he's not here, and without his permission, we can't take anything away with us. Or without a warrant." O'Riley looked at the shelves on the far wall. "The guy sure has a lot of discs." The shelves were packed with them.

Nick moved closer to the shelves but touched nothing. "I guess since they're in development, these must be all his specs or something." Nick stopped in front of a full length mirror between two shelves. "Weird place to put a mirror."

Nick could see O'Riley behind him in the mirror where he stood facing directly into it from behind Davis' desk. The detective pretended to straighten his brushcut. "Maybe he likes to look at himself while he works. He's his own inspiration."

Nick snorted softly, grinning, but something started tingling in his mind once more. He couldn't put his finger on what, though. He looked back around the room one more time, but nothing seemed out of place for a high tech development office. They had nothing.

But more troubling was the lack of Sara Sidle. "O'Riley, can you go back outside and check for Sara again? Maybe she's out there looking for us."

O"Riley nodded. "Right. You coming?"

"I'm just gonna take another look around and wait and see if Davis comes back."

"Stokes, I-"

"It'll be fine. I've got my sidearm and I'm only going to give him a couple minutes. Plus I want to see if I can find someone else in this building with some information." Anything at all would be more than they'd gotten so far.

"Alright. But I'm coming right back."

"Cool."

O'Riley disappeared down the hall and Nick looked around him.

He figured hecouldn't touch anything, so he might as well try to find someone in one of the other offices.

_Wait a sec, genius_-_You never tried her cellphone_.

He pulled out his cell and hit Sara's number, staring absently into the full length mirror. As he listened to the ring tone on the other end, he suddenly realized he could hear ringing coming from somewhere else and he lowered the phone from his ear slightly.

It was coming from behind the mirror.

* * *

Davis had his hand tightly over Sara's mouth, the gun pressed under her chin. The two of them watched as Nick stared unknowingly right back at them through the two-way mirror, both experiencing the polar opposite sides of fear- Davis afraid that the dark haired CSI would find them, and Sara afraid that he wouldn't. And as she felt the gun pressing harder against her throat, she was also afraid of what would happen if Nick _did_ find them.

Her hopes began to sink further as she saw O'Riley leave the room and she tried to will Nick not to leave, focusing all her thoughts on that very thing. When he turned towards the door, her heart began to beat erratically with panic, but then he paused for a moment and pulled out his cell phone.

Davis stiffened behind her as her cell phone began to ring. He whispered harshly in her ear, "Turn it _OFF_!"

She reached down towards her vest pocket as it continued to ring and then she felt the muzzle of the gun shift outwards, away from her jaw. Davis tightened his arm around her and his hand moved around her throat. The gun was now pointing at the two-way mirror. _At Nick_.

Sara felt her breath catch in her throat as Nick pull out his gun and put his fingers against his side of the mirror. Then she could hear his muffled voice call through. "Sara?"

The barrel still resting dangerously near her neck, she could feel rather than see Davis tighten his grip on the gun.

_Oh, my god_... _He's going to_-

And then the mirror exploded as the bullet tore through it.


	8. Chapter 8

**_A.N._**: Thanks for all the great reviews, guys. I really, _really _appreciate you all taking the time to say such nice things to me- a complete stranger, no less. You're all far too kind and I'm lapping it all up like a lion with a big bowl of milk! **:D**

I'm also looking forward to some of you continuing your own stories (you know who you all are! ) and I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. And since it's anyone's guess whether I'll be able to update this before then, I'd just like to wish you all a Happy New Year.

Hope this chapter meets with your approval.

* * *

For an instant, all Sara could see were warm, worried brown eyes staring through the mirror, looking for her.

Without a second thought, she sucked in a deep breath and then forced her arms upwards with all her strength and knocked Stan Davis' gun hand. As Davis pulled the trigger, the bullet hit the top corner of the the mirror and it shattered, sending sheets of glass crashing down to the carpet as a shocked but quick-reacting Nick hurled himself backwards onto the floor.

She fought with Davis to regain her gun, but he pulled it back out of her reach and shoved her hard against the back wall. She felt the air knocked out of her lungs as she slid to the floor. She couldn't seem to catch her breath, but she could still watch with wide eyes as a grim-faced Nick jumped back up quickly and came running at Davis, his head down.

Davis tried to raise the gun again but was too slow, and Nick hit him full force, slamming him against a desk in the small hidden room. Davis struggled against him but was no match for the athletic CSI, and before long Nick had wrestled the gun from the man and had his hand tight against the his throat to hold him in place.

Sara was more than a little surprised by Nick's sudden show of strength, and either from fear or shock, she couldn't seem to tear her eyes from the scene.

As if sensing her watching him, Nick looked anxiously over at her. "Sara... Are you OK? Did he hurt you?"

She coughed as the air began to return to her lungs and then she nodded, but before she could attempt to reply, Davis muttered from under Nick's grip, "Should have killed the bitch when I had the chance. I could have been long gone by now..."

Sara felt a momentary shiver of dread as she realized how close she'd come this time... But before she had time to dwell on it, a dark change seemed to come over Nick and before she knew what was happening, he'd forced Davis up off the desk and slammed him hard against the back wall; even harder than Sara had been knocked against it just a moment before, she was certain.

The man cried out in pain and then again struggled to escape from the furious criminalist. He forced his knee hard into Nick's side, causing him to loosen his grip enough so that Davis began to pull away. Then Nick let him go entirely- just long enough to quickly pull his fist back and smash the man in the jaw with all his might.

Davis' head snapped to the side and Nick looked like he was going to pound him again, raising his fist in the air as he ground out from between clenched teeth, "If you'd hurt her, so help me God I would have-"

"Stokes!"

Nick's fist stopped its downward motion abruptly at O'Riley's voice, and he looked over his shoulder as the detective moved quickly towards them, his gun drawn. O'Riley saw the anger fading on Nick's face, but he still looked tensed as though ready to strike. "Easy, Nick. I got him." He held his cuffs up with his free hand. "Flip him so I can cuff him."

Nick took a deep breath as if to calm himself down and then turned Davis over none too gently onto hisface. The detective squatted beside the dazed man and read him his rights while he put the cuffs around his wrists, then he pulled him backwards up on to his feet, steadying him since he still seemed a little stunned from Nick's blow. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth and he staggered clumsily through the room as O'Riley drew him away.

"You two OK here? I called for backup when I heard the shot. They should be here any moment. I'm gonna go lock him in the car."

Nick nodded and O'Riley noted the grim expression on the man's face.

"Don't worry, Stokes. You did good."

Nick smiled weakly and then the detective disappeared into the corridor. He turned immediately to where Sara was now standing, her arms folded defensively across her chest.

"Sara-"

"I... I saw him putting papers in the garbage and I thought... We don't need a warrant for that so..." She shook her head dazedly. "I didn't hear him come up behind me."

Nick moved in closer and saw that she was trying her damnedest not to cry.

_You always gotta play it tough_, _Sidle_.

He gave her a sympathetic look, but she misinterpreted it.

"I know, I know. I should have waited for O'Riley. But it was broad daylight and the garbage was out in the open...I just didn't think it would..." She trailed off, looking disappointed in herself. "I should have known better, Nick. Especially after what happened to you." She bit her lip and one tear broke free against her will. She wiped at it angrily with the back of her hand and looked at him with impatience. "I almost got you killed."

He finally stepped closer to her and put his arms on her shoulders, looking her in the face. "Hey, that's crazy. You're not responsible for what Davis did. C'mon now."

"But I-"

"But _nothing_, Sara. The guy obviously thought he had nothing to lose so who _knows_ what he would have done. It's not your fault."

"I... He got my gun, Nick. He took my gun from me and he was going to..." She swallowed heavily, unable to finish the sentence.

Nick grasped at the rational, hoping it would distract her from her self recriminations. "OK, well... you better put it down then since it's part of the crime scene."

It seemed to work and she nodded, taking a small breath. "Yeah... Yeah, you're right. It's evidence now. And we should collect the GSR from Davis as soon as possible."

"Yeah. I'll get someone to do it right away once we have back up."

"And there's probably some on me too, since I was so close to him." She nodded again, trying to focus. "I... I should get my kit."

He grabbed her hand and led her out of the small room and back into the office. "No, I don't think you should. They'll need to get your statement... and mine too, I guess." He smirked at her. "And besides, it's not like we'll be able to process our own crime scene."

She laughed lightly. "Right. Of course not. I wasn't thinking."

He hadn't let go of her hand yet and she was hoping he wouldn't notice and suddenly let go. Instead, he looked closely into her face again. "You OK now?" He reached up and brushed a strand of her hair away from her face and she smiled gratefully.

"Yeah, I am. How about you?"

He squeezed her hand softly. "I am now that I know you're OK."

"Nick, about what happened..." She paused to pull his hand up slightly, and she looked at the cuts on his knuckles from punching Stan Davis, running a finger gently alongside them. She had a strong urge to bring his knuckles to her lips, but managed to contain herself. "What you did-"

"I know. I lost it again, and I'm sorry." He'd pulled his hand away from her and she felt an immediate sense of loss. He turned away from her as he went on. "I... I don't know what happened. I just snapped." He ran his hand through his short hair and turned halfway back to face her, his eyes looking at the floor. "I'm not... I just don't know-"

"No wait, Nick." She reached for his hand again and he looked back at her in surprise. "I wasn't going to chastize you. I was going to thank you." She gripped his fingers tentatively for emphasis, and looked straight into his eyes. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there. Thank you."

Suddenly and inexplicably braver, she moved closer and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much."

Shocked, Nick just stood there and let her hug him for a moment, but when he heard her voice break slightly on her last words, he felt his own eyes well up and he held her a little tighter. "If anything had happened to you, Sara..."

She sniffled and pressed her cheek against his ear. "But nothing did, thanks to you."

He moved a hand up behind her back and wiped at his own tears, then stood back and favoured her with a small, embarrassed smile. "Uh, maybe we should go outside and wait for the back up to arrive."

She nodded, smiling nervously herself and they both started to move towards the door at the same time. He let her go through the doorway first and then surprised her by draping an arm around her shoulders as they walked down the hall. She couldn't seem to stop herself from leaning into him slightly, and he gave her shoulder a tender squeeze.

"We're both OK, Sara. We're OK."

She wiped another annoying tear from her face and smiled shyly up at him. "Yeah, we are."

When they walked out into the sunshine, a squad car was already pulling into the parking lot.

* * *

"So he had his gun pointed at Stokes through the mirror." It was a statement and not a question but Sara felt an answer was in order.

"No, he pointed _my _gun at Nick through the mirror." Sara frowned at the memory.

O'Riley acknowledged the correction with a nod. "Right. OK, then what did you do?"

Nick pressed on the bandage over his knuckles and then looked at Sara, waiting for her response. She swallowed heavily but couldn't look at him just then, so she focused on the detective.

"I threw my arms upwards and tried to knock at the gun before he could get the shot off."

Nick's brows went up but she wasn't looking at him at the moment, so he said nothing. O'Riley continued his questioning.

"Then he fired the weapon?"

"Yes, but I had managed to knock him off balance and the shot went upwards somewhere. Obviously it still hit the mirror because it shattered instantly. Then I tried to get the gun away from him, but he was too strong and he pushed me back hard against the wall. I couldn't breathe right way...I... it must have knocked the wind out of me for a moment."

She finished her recount, and then Nick added his version. When he mentioned the mirror crashing down while he threw himself out of the way, Sara noticed his eyes flicked to her briefly, but she looked at the ground.

And then Grissom arrived with Warrick.

"What the hell happened man?" Warrick eyed them both with concern, noting Sara's unusal paleness.

She'd only told the story once, but she was already feeling too tired to tell it again. And too ashamed of what her impatience had almost cost them all. As if sensing her discomfort, Nick came to her rescue once again, revealing how it had all gone down.

Grissom interrupted him and looked at Sara. "Where was O'Riley when you checked the garbage bin?"

Sara grimaced. She had known the question was coming, but that didn't make it any easier to respond. "He hadn't arrived yet. I thought it would be OK since I was outside in broad daylight and-"

"_Sara_. What were you _thinking_? You know we don't do anything without police back up."

She'd known it had been foolish to try to explain, especially when she knew she was wrong either way. She fully deserved all his reprimands. "I know, Grissom. I...I just didn't think-"

"No, you _didn't think_. Are you trying to get yourself or someone else killed?"

Her eyes welled up and she looked at her feet, but Grissom kept speaking.

"After all we've been through this year-"

"Grissom. _Enough_."

Nick was suddenly at her side and she couldn't help but look up at him with amazement. Grissom had a similar expression on his face, but Nick spoke up again.

"She knows she made a mistake. It's over. Move on."

Grissom furrowed his brow. "It's not that simple, Nick."

Nick sighed heavily and rubbed at one eyebrow. "Well, maybe this time it is." He looked at the speechless Sara and shook his head ever so slightly. "If you want to reprimand her, do it later. She's been through enough today. O'Riley has our statements and you can call us on our cells if you need anything else." Then he looked directly at her, his eyes softening slightly. "I'm taking her home."

Grissom seemed as though he wanted to say more, but then he let out his own exasperated sigh. "_Fine_. We'll discuss this later, Sara." He gave her another disappointed look. "But we're going to need your clothes. Switch into your coveralls and give them to Warrick."

She nodded slightly and allowed Nick to lead her away, feeling about as low as she'd felt in a very long time.


	9. Chapter 9

**_A.N._**: OK, I finally updated... but you may not like this chapter... :p

* * *

Sara buttoned up her coveralls and called to Nick's back. "I'm done. You can stop blocking the view now."

Nick turned around, smiling amiably as he held up the large evidence bag. "Drop them in here. I'll take them to Warrick."

"I can do it, Nick."

He grinned with amusement. "Yes, I'm sure you can. But I need to talk to him before we go, alright?"

She pressed her lips together in a self-effacing smirk. "Right. Sorry."

He closed the bag after she dropped in her clothing and started in Warrick's direction. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

He winked at her and she shook her head, laughing lightly.

* * *

"Thanks man. I already pulled my stuff out." Nick tossed his keys to Warrick and started to move away. "I'll be back at the lab a little later anyway so-"

"Nick."

He stopped and turned back to his friend. "Yeah?"

"Is she OK?"

"Yeah, I think she'll be alright. She's just a little shaken."

"What about you?"

Nick smirked good-naturedly at his friend's concern.

"Same."

Warrick snorted softly and patted his friend on the shoulde, smiling. "Gimme a call if you need anything."

"Thanks, bro. See ya later."

Sara was leaning against her SUV, a bland expression on her face. Left alone, her thoughts were obviously getting the better of her again.

Nick couldn't help but smile a little at her appearance though. If she wasn't so tall, her slimness would have been swallowed up awkwardly by her coveralls. As it was, she just looked...

_Cute_. _Incredibly, irresistably cute_.

Nick choked back his untimely urges and cleared his throat, hoping it would clear his mind as well.

"Um, you ready?"

She nodded. "What about your rig?"

"Warrick's taking it back to the lab for me. Toss me your keys."

Her brows went up. "I can drive, Nick."

"What a coincidence- so can I. Now that we've established that we both know how to drive, gimme your keys."

She felt her hackles going up instantly.

"Look, I'm fine OK? I don't need you to drive me back to the lab." She sounded more than a little impatient, but Nick couldn't stop himself from grinning. Sara looked at his smiling face and became even more annoyed.

"What's so funny?"

He shook his head a little, laughing. "You don't find this ironic?"

Her exasperation was simmering. "What?"

"Me worrying about you and you wanting me to lay off?"

She pursed her lips and tried to hold onto her frustration, but finally a smile broke through against her will and she laughed along with him. "OK, fine. I get it now. Are you happy?"

He looked at her appraisingly for a moment and then nodded, grinning playfully. "Yeah, I'm getting there."

Something about his smile made her heart suddenly climb into her throat. Smiling awkwardly, she dropped her keys in his hand and moved around her vehicle to the passenger door before she started blushing like a dumb kid.

Nick climbed in, adjusted the seat slightly and turned the key in the ignition. He reached down towards his pocket, and she watched him pull at his sunglasses. That's when she noticed it.

"Nick... Your hands are shaking."

He held his hands in front of him, watching them tremble lightly. He looked bemused. "So they are." He looked over at her and his gaze dropped lower. "Funny thing is, so are _yours_."

Sara looked at her hands and realized he was right. She grinned at him again. "Should we have a _'shake off'_ to see whose hands are steadier to drive?"

He laughed at that and then clapped his hands together decisively. "Nah. Let's get outta here."

* * *

They drove along in silence for a minute and Sara kept watching her shaking hands while she mulled over everything that had happened. She let out a small chuckle.

"You know, Warrick and I were actually talking about this not too long ago... About how we never really wanted to be a cops. For me it was always about the science."

Nick nodded, smiling. "That I can believe."

She laughed again. "Well, I guess this proves it." She held up her trembling fingers. "I'd make a lousy cop."

"I'm pretty sure even cops experience the effects of an adrenalin rush." He glanced at her for a moment and she was sure he looked a tad sheepish before his attention returned to the road ahead. She knew why after his next words. "And can you believe I once told Grissom that part of the reason I took the job was because I wanted to pack heat, and get a chance to _be the man_?"

She laughed lightly at that. "I bet he was impressed."

"Well, I'm bettin' he was at least amused."

"Do you still feel that way?"

He looked her way again, his smile turning a little weary around the edges. "Ah, not so much lately, no."

She grinned back sympathetically, noting the regret hidden behind his smile. "A lot of things have changed, haven't they?"

He nodded slightly, unsure of whether she knew just how true that was...or on how many levels.

* * *

The two of them walked into the criminalistics wing and headed back toward the locker room.

Sara was finding the dimly lit corridors comforting. She figured she was still looking a little shell-shocked and she really didn't feel like fielding any questions about everything just then.

"Sara, Nick. You guys OK?"

Greg approached from down the hall and they stopped when they heard his voice. Sara felt her chances of getting in and out of the labs unnoticed slipping away when Greg threw an arm around her shoulder and gave her a small hug. Nick watched on uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I'm fine Greg." She looked over a Nick and added, "_We're _fine."

Greg still looked concerned. "I heard what happened. The guy was a chump, but who knew he was homocidal as well? You sure you're OK?" He looked back and forth between them, his eyes finally resting on Sara.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, it did." He looked at Sara now too. "Listen, if you need a moment..."

Sara waited for him to finish, but when he didn't she looked at him questioningly. "A moment? For what?"

Nick felt even more uncomfortable. "Uh... nothing, I guess."

Still confused, she looked back at Greg. "Well, I'm going to go change, so... I... Um." She didn't know what to say next. Nick had said he was going to take her home, but maybe he'd just meant back to the lab?

Greg was utterly clueless about the discomfort of both his colleagues and smiled his relief at their safety. "Well, anyway, I'm glad you're both OK." He gave Sara's shoulder a small squeeze and started to move away, but he kept talking. "Plus, you probably fleshed out another guilty suspect on this case and I can't wait to tie this all together. See you later, guys."

Nick watched him move away, a little confused at how lightly he was taking everything. If the tables had been turned and he was the one dating Sara...

_But I'm not_.

He took a breath and turned back to Sara. "Why don't you get changed and I'll go pull my truck around and wait for you."

They'd already been over this conversation, but still Sara felt the need to say it anyway. "You don't need to drive me home, Nick. Seriously."

He looked nonplussed, and held his hands out between them. "Steady as a rock. Let's see yours."

She chewed the inside of her lip for a second and then held her own hands up. They were still trembling slightly. She said nothing, but Nick's mouth quirked up on one side.

"Yeah, I thought so. I'll see you outside."

She sighed heavily, more unimpressed with herself than anything else, and headed down the hall to change.

All the while she was changing, she struggled with herself, torn between wanting Nick to take her home (she tried to tell herself that this was just because she didn't want to be alone right now and then almost laughed at her own denial) and thinking it might be better in the long run if he just let her be alone. Because the closer she got to him lately, the stranger things became. And it wasn't just that angry kiss, it was _her_. She was falling for someone she had no business falling for.

Nick was a colleague and a friend. She'd already been down that road before and she'd only ended up shot down and embarrassed. And she was definitely one to learn from her mistakes.

If only her heart would be more cooperative.

She stared at her locker door for a moment, remembering the look on Nick's face right after he'd kissed her. No, she couldn't handle any more rejection. She was just going to have to swallow these feelings and hope they disappeared with time.

With a new sense of purpose, Sara re-emerged back out into the sunshine ten minutes later and walked towards Nick's truck.

He smiled out his open window at her. "That was fast."

She was wearing a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt, her sunglasses covering her eyes. Once again, Nick was overwhelmed by how attractive she looked and he gestured towards his passenger door. "Your chariot awaits."

She looked inside the vehicle from where she stood. "Jeeze, it sure looks tidy in there. It's as clean as your work SUV."

He smiled wider. "What can I say? I'm a tidy guy. So are you getting in or what?"

"Actually... I think I'd rather drive myself."

"Sara-"

"I know, I know. And if it makes you feel better you can follow me in your truck if you want to, but I really need my car, Nick. I mean, how am I supposed to get back into work? And I need to run some errands later too, and..."

He frowned but didn't try to talk her out of it anymore. "OK, that's fine. But yeah- I _will_ follow you home. I just want to make sure..." He trailed off, shrugging.

"Cool." She looked a little too relieved for his liking.

And _cool _was right. He felt as if the temperature had just dropped 10 degrees. Still frowning, he watched her walking across the parking lot towards her car and turned on the ignition in his truck.

As he pulled out of the lot behind her, he wondered what had happened between the locker room and the parking lot to make her pull back like that... because that's what had happened. She'd seemed to pull away from him somehow, as if he'd done something wrong. _Again_.

Telling himself that she was probably just unsettled after all that had happened, her turned up his radio and tried to let the news broadcast distract him.

A short while later, Sara drove through the security gate of her underground parking and Nick pulled to a stop in front of her building. He hoped she realized he was idling out there and didn't head straight to her condo.

He hadn't known he was so tense until she appeared a few moments later and a strange sort of relief passed through him as she approached the car. Sliding her sunglasses back over her eyes, she gave him a half-smile.

"Well, I made it."

"Yep."

She folded her arms across her chest. "So... Thanks for everything, Nick. And I know I may have seemed...Uh... Well, thanks for making sure I got home alright. It...Uh... It really does mean a lot to me."

Her smile seemed genuine, but he really wished he could see her eyes. "Not a problem at all."

_Do you want me to go up to your apartment with you? Do you need me to stay with you for a while? Can I kiss you again, but this time I'm not gonna stop_...?

Unaware of his turmoiled thoughts, she quashed a few of her own. Had she known how similar they were to his, she might have thrown caution to the wind. Instead, she backed slowly towards her building.

"Well, I guess I'll get inside. So, I'll... I'll talk to you later."

He nodded as the disappointment settled in deep down inside him. "Yeah... Yeah, I'll see you later." Smiling to cover his unhappiness, he took the truck out of park. "Take care."

She nodded and smiled again but said nothing. Then she turned and moved up the stairs to her condo and out of sight.

Staring at the empty place where she'd slipped from view, Nick finally pulled away from the curb and started back towards the lab. He turned the radio volume even louder as rock music poured out, and prayed that working on the case would give him something to focus on right now... Something other than this pointless longing for Sara Sidle.


	10. Chapter 10

Sara tidied her condo. Then she re-arranged some furniture.

She threw some laundry in the washer. And made a couple grilled cheese sandwiches.

When she had walked past her car keys on her counter for the tenth time, she finally stopped.

"Screw this."

She grabbed her keys and headed down to her car

* * *

Nick adjusted his cuffs and pulled on some gloves.

He looked around the section of the LVPD's garage where he was about to go over Stan Davis' car. It was like a ghost town in there. Ignoring the irrational chill that ran down his spine, he grabbed the car keys laying on the table and moved towards the trunk.

* * *

"Grissom, I know I made a huge mistake. I understand if you feel the need to give me a written warning. It's no less than I deserve. In fact it's _far_ less than I deserve."

The older man looked over the top of his glasses at her. "Sara-" He let out a tired sigh. "You know I don't want to do that. But you've told me you've learned your lesson before and yet here we are again. How can I get through to you that what you did is dangerous? Not just for you but for the people you work with as well." He stood up and moved in front of her chair, leaning back against his desk. "Every time I think you've finally got a steady grip on things, something else seems to come up. Something like this."

He was right and she knew it. She continued to listen in silence.

"I know you've been through a lot, and I understand. And truthfully, I can't believe what an incredible woman you are despite it all. But I still worry about you from time to time- like now." He paused for a moment. "I guess what I'm saying is this: I'm worried that you're not going to 'learn your lesson' until you or someone else really gets hurt."

She nodded numbly, her eyes welling up."You know what, Grissom? That day when I finally learned my lesson? That day was _today_."

His eyebrows raised in query, but he waited for her to go on.

"Today I was afraid that I'd made that mistake- the one that gets someone hurt. And no, I wasn't worried about myself." She sniffled quietly. "If something had happened to Nick because of my rashness... my stupidity... Well, I never would have forgiven myself. _Never_."

Grissom felt a pang of sympathy as a tear rolled down her cheek. Maybe, just _maybe_ she finally knew that nothing was worth the risk. He nodded gently and put an arm on her shoulder.

"OK, Sara." He leaned back and regarded her with his head cocked at an angle. "I believe you. And I'm not going to write you up. But please don't make me regret it."

She wiped hastily at the tear on her face and shook her head. "Grissom, this isn't about the written warning. I don't care about-"

"I know it's not." His mouth twitched into a smirk. "But it'll save me some paperwork in the long run. And you know how much I love paperwork."

She laughed lightly. "Right. OK, well then... Thanks. And I won't let you down. I promise you that."

"Good to know. Now why don't you head back home. We've got-"

"No, Griss... I don't want to go home. I want to get back to work."

He sighed again. "Sara, I think-"

"_Please_, Grissom. I was going stir crazy at home. There's nothing therapeutic about it, trust me. And I promise I'll check in with my PEAP tomorrow, as required. Just let me help you guys pull it all together. Please."

He grinned in defeat. "Alright. Nick's in the garage. Why don't you go help him process the car."

She felt her heart rise into her throat quickly, but she swallowed it down and nodded. She could hardly ask to be assigned somewhere else when she'd just begged to be allowed back to work.

She tried to calm her erratic heartbeat as she headed back to the locker room to grab her coveralls.

* * *

Leaning over the table, Nick flicked through the papers from Davis' trunk. He'd found financial statements, personal correspondance and a bunch of sheets that looked to be covered with computer data and possibly some type of design specs, which would make sense since his company was involved in tech development. He'd run them by Archie and see if anything jumped out at them.

He was just about to comb the bottom of the trunk for trace when he heard a noise from the other side of the car. His pulse began to speed up again as he looked around the open trunk. He felt a mixture of relief, surprise and a touch of excitement when he saw Sara standing there in her coveralls. She grinned weakly.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself. What are you doing here? I thought you were going to take it easy at home."

She moved slowly towards him. "Well,ah... I just couldn't seem to relax. So I thought I might as well come in and see if I could help out. Besides, you were involved in all that too, and you're back at work."

He grinned. "True." He gave her a long look and then realized he was staring. "Well, I'm just doing the trunk. You want start inside."

"Sure. What're we looking for?"

"Anything."

"OK. I'm on it."

She smiled again and then pulled on her gloves, opened the passenger door and pulled out her maglite.

* * *

Nick blew out a stream of air and moved over to the side of the car. He looked in a Sara, who was crawling around the back seat.

"Anything?"

"Nope. Cigarette butts. Empty coffee cups. Odds and ends, but nothing probative. How about you?" She climbed out of the car and moved beside him.

"I don't know, actually. I found some things that look like blueprints or technical designs. I don't now if they'll end up panning out, but it's all we've got, looks like."

She nodded. "Yeah."

They stood awkwardly in silence for a second and then Nick broke in on the interlude.

"So... Did you talk to Grissom yet?"

One side of her mouth quirked up. "Yep."

He was actually pretty interested in what happened, but he couldn't seem to stifle a yawn. He smiled apologetically. "Sorry." She smiled with amusement and he continued. "So what happened?" He kept looking up at her as he hunkered down on the floor and leaned up against the wall. He pulled his knees up in front of him and rested his hands on his knees as he looked up at her inquisitively.

"He told me I was a dumbass and I told him he was right."

Nick laughed. "Yeah, I bet."

"Well, I may be paraphrasing somewhat..."

Nick laughed and it turned into another yawn. "So, what really went down?"

Her mouth contorted slightly as she composed her thoughts. "Well... He told me if I didn't smarten up one of these days, I was going to get myself or someone else killed."

Nick's eyes widened a little, but he remained silent.

"And I told him I knew it was true."

Nick nodded and then, to his surprise, she scrunched down and sat beside him on the floor. Leaning her head back against the wall, she stared straight ahead. "Nick, I screwed up. And if anything had happened to you, it would have destroyed me."

He looked over at her sympathetically. "Sara, I keep telling you it wasn't your fault. O'Riley and I weren't that far behind you. He could have just as easily gone off on us instead."

"Yeah well... That's not what happened. And maybe nobody _did_ get hurt, but I still want to apologize to you, Nick. And I know you don't want to hear this but... after all you've been through, the last thing you needed was this sort of incident. I'm so, _so _sorry." The breath she released reflected her disappointment in herself and Nick felt his sympathy increasing. He threw an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her shoulders gently.

"Hey it's OK, Sara. It's OK." He put his face against her hair. "But if it makes you feel any better, I accept you apology."

She sniffled softly and his lips moved closer to her ear, whispering. "C'mon now, don't cry. Where's that tough Sara Sidle we all know and love?"

She gave an embarrassed laugh and spoke quietly, trying to sniffle away her last tear. "Yeah, I know- it's a bit out of character, isn't it? Or at least it used to be..."

Nick carressed her arm lightly and kept his lips close to her ear, whispering again. "It's OK, Sara. It's all OK."

With Nick's arm around her, Sara realized that she couldn't remember ever feeling this safe and comfortable... and just so content. If it were up to her, they'd never move from this spot. She was actually surprised to be feeling a moment of happiness in an otherwise awful day. Happiness... and something else.

Nick yawning in her ear broke her from her reverie, but she didn't stir in his arms as she spoke up.

"Maybe you should go home, Nick. You must be well past a double by now."

He continued to face into her hair and she imagined his eyes were closed as he sighed out his response. "I'm quickly approaching triple status. But I don't want to leave until we piece this all together."

As much as she hated to move from the most comfortable position she'd ever been in, she pulled her head away from him fractionally and looked kindly into his face. "Buy you a coffee, cowboy?"

He smiled wearily and just then she wanted nothing more than to reach up and caress his cheek, and wipe away all his tiredness with her fingertips.

And then before she knew what she was doing, she leaned in and kissed him.


	11. Chapter 11

Unlike Sara's reaction in the parking lot, Nick recovered quickly from the shock of being suddenly kissed and he moved his hands up to the side of her face, kissing her back fervently. The pleasure was rolling over him in waves.

Sara's mind was turning to jelly and she couldn't seem to conceive of anything other than one concept: _More_.

Her lips never left his as she turned herself more towards his body and overlapped one of his knees with her own. She slid her hands up his chest and began clutching at the front of his coveralls. Nick turned into her and slid his knee further under her leg as he pulled her closer still, his hands running up her back. He moaned when she moved a hand under the material and her fingers touched the bare skin of his shoulder. A band of heat compressed his chest when he heard her moan low in her throat in response.

Sara had always wondered whether he wore anything under his coveralls. Now she knew. His shoulder felt the way it had always looked to her- firm and muscular and sexy. What she hadn't expected was the softness of his skin... or the heat. He seemed almost feverishly warm. But she didn't mind.

_I feel like I'm burning up myself_.

She tried to get even closer, but their movements caused Nick to knock his head off the wall behind them and they broke off the kiss.

"Ouch." Nick grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, Nick... I'm sorry. You OK?" She smiled guiltily and he laughed.

"Ah, I've taken worse knocks than that, trust me."

They were both desperate to resume the kiss, but for the moment neither of them seemed to have the nerve to make the first move again. Nick's lips quirked into a smile.

"So, Sara... Does this mean you won't be filing a sexual harrassment charge against me for the other day?"

She looked back at him in surprise, but she didn't get a chance to respond.

"_Nick? Sara? You guys in here_?"

Sara looked wide-eyed at Nick and then tried to smother a laugh as she quietly extricated herself from his limbs and returned to a sitting position beside him. She could feel her cheeks getting redder and she quickly pulled her knees up in front of her and rested her forehead on her arms just before Greg appeared beside the car.

"Hey guys... What's going on?" Greg looked mildly surprised at finding them sitting on the floor of the garage.

Without having to fake it, Nick let out a loud yawn. "Ah, it's just been a long day... or is it two now? I'm losing track."

Sara lifted her head while rubbing at her eyes, as if she too was fighting off sleep. "We're just taking a breather, Greg."

"Ah. You guys probably shouldn't even be here after what happened...Well anyway, everyone's getting together to run through what we've got. You guys finished with the car?"

"Yeah. I just have some stuff to drop off with Archie, but other than that..." Nick looked at Sara and she nodded her agreement.

"Yeah, I think we're done. I didn't find anything."

Greg looked at them expectantly and didn't show signs of leaving, so Sara climbed to her feet. Nick stood up behind her and moved towards the papers he'd pulled from the trunk.

"I'll just get these to Archie and change. See you in the war room in 5."

Greg nodded and turned to leave, Sara moving in behind him. Before she slipped out of sight, she glanced back towards Nick to see him watching her.

* * *

"Davis must have followed Robitaille to the house after the double-cross and Robitaille ran out the back and hid behind the dumpster where he succumbed to his woun-"

"But he couldn't have followed Robitaille back there. We questioned him not long after Smythe was killed at the presentation." Greg cut off Catherine. "I seriously doubt he could have left, chased down Robitaille to that house and made it back in the space of time before the police got there."

Sara added her two cents. "Well, it's an old place and it's obvious that a lot of people have been known to camp out there, so maybe someone else was around the house that day. And Robitaille was probably totally paranoid by then since he'd just been stabbed... So maybe he heard someone and mistook them for Stan Davis coming for him.He panicked in the middle of changing and took off out the back."

Warrick looked skeptical. "That's a lot of _maybes_. And he'd have to be pretty paranoid to run out of the house in just his gitch. Maybe we should run a tox screen on him and see if he was on anything."

Grissom nodded and Warrick flipped open his cell phone to make the call. Grissom continued with another query. "Have we figured out how Robitaille even got to the house?"

"I can help with that." Nick appeared suddenly in the doorway and moved to a place at the table beside Grissom. Sara refrained from looking directly at him, afraid she'd blush or something and everyone would instantly know what was going on in her head... or more importantly, in her _heart_. She knew she was being foolish, but she looked down at the papers in front of her as if deep in thought while Nick elaborated.

"I just saw O'Riley in the hall. He went through the plate numbers from around the house and he found an Audi that listed Robitaille as the R.O. They're towing it back right now, but there were obvious red stains on the driver's seat."

Grissom nodded. "Good." He looked over at Sara and then back at Nick. "You two up for some more car detail?"

Nick looked over at Sara, knowing she'd never say no to overtime. And as exhausted as he was, he wouldn't be able to say no either if he would be working alongside her again. She looked back at him with a tired smile and he grinned back, hoping she was thinking about the same thing he was. But surprisingly, Catherine intervened.

"Grissom, Robitaille's dead. His car's not going anywhere. Everyone's been working doubles here and we're getting strung out. We have a lot of evidence to go over right now, so why don't we save that for tomorrow?"

Both Nick and Sara stood on opposite sides of the table, each unbeknownst to the other trying to figure out whether they were relieved or disappointed.

Grissom looked around at everyone and tilted his head at an angle as if in challenge. "Alright then. What we have right now are theories and supposition. Let's run through it from the start and see what we can piece together based on the evidence instead..."

* * *

"I need coffee." Catherine blew at her bangs, moving them out of her eyes. "Are we done here?"

Everyone looked at Grissom hopefully and he held his hands up in supplication. "I think we can go to the D.A. with this. We have more than enough evidence to incriminate Davis. And that's in addition to the incident with Sara and Nick. Speaking of whom- Nick, are you going to follow up with Archie on those papers from Davis' trunk before you go?"

Nick nodded tiredly and looked at his watch. They'd been at it in here for around 3 hours. And he'd already been tired before that. "Yeah, he may have something for me now. I'll go check it out."

Everyone else started making noises about leaving and getting some well earned sleep as Nick ambled out the door and disappeared down the hallway. Sara watched after him, so tired she didn't realize she was just hovering there staring into space. Greg wiggled his fingers in front of her face.

"Hey, anybody alive in there?"

She blinked and immediately yawned. "Sorry. What'd you say?"

"Food? I'm buying."

She smiled but shook her head in the negative. "I'd fall asleep in my cornflakes. Raincheck?"

"You got it."

Torn between wanting to follow Nick and wanting to go home and fall into a deep sleep, she continued to hover a little longer even though nobody else was left in the room. She looked at her watch again just for something to do, then gave in and made her way down the hall towards the locker room.

The room was empty as well and a tired Sara put her name badge on the shelf in her locker and reached for her car keys, somewhat disappointed that she wouldn't see Nick before she left.

In fact, she was amazed she'd just made it through the last few hours without thinking about what had happened in the garage. But they'd been so focused on the case, there hadn't been time to consider anything else.

Now there was time.

And suddenly her brain was awash with the images and sensations of what it meant to kiss Nick Stokes; to _really _kiss him.

A small smile played across her lips as she made her way out to her car.

* * *

Nick was disappointed that he hadn't come across Sara anywhere after he'd left the AV lab and checked in with Grissom about the results. His brain had been on "casework auto-pilot" when he'd left the meeting room or he would have taken a moment to catch her eye and indicate that he wanted to talk to her when they got a chance. Although he had assumed she would have wanted to talk to him too...

He was even more disappointed when he finally entered the dimly lit locker room to find it empty.

_Man, she left without talking to me_. _Is that a bad sign?_

He switched to his street clothes and pulled his cell phone out as he walked towards the parking lot.

_

* * *

_

Sara got out of the shower and wrapped her hair in a towel, unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn. She had been planning on eating something before she hit the hay, but she didn't know if she could even keep her eyes open that long.

Dragging herself to the kitchen, she opened the fridge and pulled out a container of yogurt, leaning against the counter and absently spooning it into her mouth. She spied the small light flashing on the side of her cell phone on the counter and her heart skipped a beat.

_Nick?_

She flipped it open and read the display.

_1 Call Missed from Nick Stokes_

And there was a message. She quickly pulled it up and hoped he'd done more than a hang up...

"_Hey Sar, it's Nick_. _Um_..._ I was wondering_..._ Well, I was thinking maybe we should get together and, uh_... _talk_. _Yeah_... _about what happened today_. _And the other day too I guess_." He cleared his throat. " _So anyway, gimme a call when you get this, OK? Talk to you soon_."

Sara's heart was beating fast again and she immediately started to dial him back before she even had a chance to think about what she was going to say. He picked up after the first ring.

"Stokes."

"Hey Nick. It's me."

"Hi there. I thought maybe you'd already gone to sleep."

"Just about. I must have been in the shower when you called."

"Ah. Yeah, so..." The silence stretched out as they were both momentarily realized the enormity of what was happening between them. Saratried to save them both from the dead air.

"So...?" She got stuck there. She heard Nick laughing on the other end.

"Mind if I stop by?"

She was sure her smile must have been reflected in her voice. "Not at all."

"Great." He sounded like he was smiling too, and this made her smile wider as he continued. "See you in a bit."

She hung up the phone and threw out her yogurt. After she got dressed maybe she could make them some-

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

_Man, somebody has bad timing_...

She tightened the towel around her body and moved to the door frowning. Putting her eye to the peephole, she cursed her bad luck. The last thing she needed was a visitor right now, when she was expecting-

_Nick_.

She laughed softly and opened the door, forgetting she was dressed only in a towel. But she remembered quickly when a look of mild shock crossed his features as he looked back at her standing in the doorway.

"Uh, hey there." She was blushing and couldn't stop herself. She clutched at her towel and tried to tighten it a little more. "I... I didn't expect you quite _this _soon."

He swallowed awkwardly and cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah... I... I was just..."

He faded off and she wrapped her arms across her chest uncomfortably.

"Sara, I... I'm sorry. I didn't realize..." He leaned against the door jam, grinning awkwardly.

"It's OK. I just didn't know you'd..." She shrugged and laughed a little.

"Yeah, well..." He was looking everywhere but at her as he spoke. "The truth is, I've been sitting outside in my truck trying to get up the courage to knock on the door."

She felt her heart speeding up in her chest. "Oh... Really?"

He ran a hand across the back of his neck and grinned with embarrassment and looked at the floor. "Yep."

Sara couldn't keep her smile at bay. "Well... then are you going to come in?"

He slowly raised his gaze to hers. She saw him struggling with something but she couldn't figure out what. And his next words confused her even more.

"I... Now that I'm here, I'm not sure this is such a good idea."

Her heart was starting to beat faster again, but this time for a different reason. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he slowly released a heavy breath.

"I think maybe I should go."

She stared at him in surprise, feeling her chances slipping away again. "But Nick, I... I thought you'd want to talk about... about _today_."

He shook his head and looked at the floor again. "Yeah, I thought I did, but... Listen, Sara-" He looked at her uncomfortably again. "I just better go. I'm... I'm sorry."

Sara couldn't think of a thing to say to stop him. She watched helplessly as he backed out of her doorway, her heart turning to wood in her chest.


	12. Chapter 12

**_A.N: _**And the prize for best guess goes to _Audra/Space-Case7029 _:)

* * *

_This isn't happening_. _Not this time_. _Not with Nick_.

Caught in the middle of a moment of clarity, she didn't even realize that she'd been saying "_No_" out loud until she realized that Nick had stopped turning away from her. She heard herself say, "_Wait_... _Stop_" and he turned back to fully face her. She was troubled by the guilty look on his face, but she couldn't let him go. Not yet.

"Nick, I... You... You can't go. We have to talk about this. _I need to talk about this_."

Clearly more than a little reluctant, he hesitated on the walkway outside her door.

"Sara, I... It's just that..."

"_What? _What's the problem, Nick? All I want to do is talk about what's been happening between us like two adults. I think I deserve at least that."

He moved back to stand directly in front of her. He seemed to be fighting with some inner battle and she suddenly felt a little guilty herself.

_Maybe I shoudn't be pushing him like this_...

She quickly pushed the thought aside.

_No, screw THAT_. _He's_ _been coddled enough_. _And he'd be the first one to agree with that_._ We're gonna talk this out right now no matter what_. _I'm not going to spend another portion of my life pining after someone and wondering what could have been_. _Good or bad, I need the truth right now_.

Nick was too caught up in his own anxiety to notice the conflicting emotions flashing across her eyes. Before he could formulate the words, she pressed him again.

"I want to talk about this, Nick. I think if nothing else, the friendship we've formed over the years should-"

"Sara. _Stop_."

She felt mildly annoyed at being interrupted, but the sudden serious set of his expression halted anything she was about to say. He held out a hand and gestured towards the inside of her condo. She took the lead and she heard him follow her in, closing the door behind them.

"Please. Sit." He pointed at the stool in front of her kitchen island. Her eyebrows rose slightly, but she acquiesced. He stood on the kitchen side of the island, opposite her.

She folded her arms across her chest, once again remembering that she was sitting there in just a towel. Not to mention the one wrapped around her head... Embarrassment began to settle in and she hoped she wasn't blushing.

Nick chewed on his lip for a moment and then started to speak.

"Sara, you're right. We need to talk about what happened. I wanted to talk about it too."

"You could have fooled me."

She'd wanted it to come out sounding like cool skepticism, but she knew she'd only sounded hurt. She looked away from Nick before he could see it reflected in her eyes as well.

"Sara."

She didn't look at him and he moved around the island to her side.

"Sara, I wasn't leaving because I didn't want to talk to you about this. About _us_." He leaned against the counter beside her. "I was leaving because I saw you standing there in that... _that towel_." He swallowed heavily and her eyes slowly rose to his. "And suddenly talking was the _last_ thing on my mind."

She was sure her jaw must have dropped to the floor.

He folded his arms in front of his chest in a familiar defensive pattern that Sara knew all too well. His face was a mask of stoicism, but his eyes...

It was like he was burning her up on the spot with just his glance.

Totally unprepared for his frank admission, she couldn't seem to find a reply. He moved away from the island and backed a step away towards the door. Giving her a look of bemusement, his eyes seemed to lose a bit of their spark as he spoke. "So you see why it's probably best if I left."

He began to turn away again and she watched him, frozen in her seat as he moved back to the door and put his hand on the knob. "So, I'll let you get some sleep and maybe I can give you a call tomor-"

"Nick, wait..." The thought of him leaving was enough to shock her system into action and she had moved quickly behind him, placing a hand on his arm.

Now it was his turn to look surprised. And when he looked down at her hand on his arm, the fire began to rekindle in his eyes. He looked into her eyes and saw a similar heat reflecting there. She seemed to be trying to catch her breath before she could speak.

"I..."

She grasped for the words to make him stay, and she cursed her sudden inability to speak English. He turned more towards her now, eyes not leaving hers, and he placed a hand tentatively on her waist. Her heart skipped a beat and she finally found the words she'd been looking for.

"We don't have to talk now. Just please don't go." She smiled nervously and began to softly stroke her fingers along his arm. "I just... I really want you to stay."

He wet his lips and drew her closer to his body. Looking carefully into her face, he smiled hopefully.

"Are you sure?"

She slid her hands up his back, nodding, and he couldn't contain his hunger anymore.

His lips crushed into hers and she leaned into him, clutching at his back, her own starving need guiding her. His hands moved to her shoulders and up the sides of her neck, relishing the feel of her soft skin.

He laughed into her lips a bit and she pulled back. "What?"

He pulled at the towel that held her damp hair up and grinned as it fell down to her shoulders in wavy strands. "That's better."

She smiled and ran a hand uncomfortably through her messy hair. "Maybe I should-"

"No. You don't need to do anything. You're beautiful." He pulled her close again and kissed her tenderly.

She smiled into his lips and he eased her slowly backwards into the living room, not releasing her from his embrace. With every step, their lower bodies moved continually back and forth against each other. Sara was just starting to think she might go mad from wanting him when she felt the backs of her calves brush up against her sofa. Nick turned her slowly, moving in behind her. And then suddenly she was on his lap, turned halfway towards him.

She put a hand to his face, running her fingers across his strong jawline as she leaned in to kiss him. She shivered when his hand whispered across the back of her neck, playing with her damp hair. His lips moved from hers and dipped beneath her ear, and she tilted her head unconsciously as the goosebumps played across her body.

When one of his hands slid deftly between the layers of her towel, she sucked in a breath and reached a hand up to grasp at the back of his lowered head. Then his fingers were caressing the skin of her belly and it was all she could do to keep from laying wantonly back and telling him to "_take me now_."

Nick's heart was beating at double time as his fingers explored the soft skin under the towel, and soon the pulsing between his legs began to emulate that rhythm. Sara's head fell slightly back and he moved his lips to her throat, his tongue dipping into the hollow there as the hand under the towel slipped down her waist to her hip.

About to dissolve into a warm puddle, Sara moaned softly at the trail of heat his mouth was creating. She was trying to turn more towards him when he gripped her waist with his other hand and turned her away from him. Her bottom rested fully in his lap and she could feel his hardness straining beneath her as he kissed along the side of her neck and down her shoulders. Unsure what to do with her hands, she reached them up behind her and ran her fingers through his silky hair.

The weight of her against his growing erection was causing him a blissful sort of agony, and he slid his hand upwards under her towel, growling low in his throat as he felt the bottom swell of her breast and she arched her back in response. He pulled at the towel with his other hand and the fabric untucked, gradually revealing first one rose coloured peak and then the other. He drew in a tight breath at the sight of them, his arousal climbing to even greater heights than before.

Sara breathed out raggedly as his hands pushed more of the towel out of the way and his fingers grazed her breasts lightly, teasing her. She ground her bottom into him slowly in response, arching her back even more. As the sensations spasmed through his manhood, he ran his mouth roughly across her shoulder, his hand sliding back up to cup her breast while his thumb began a slow, dizzying circle around her taut nipple. His other hand moved tantalizingly up and down her other side, first teasing her other breast and then slipping down to play just above her midriff for a few agonizingly brief moments before repeating the sensual cycle. Sara grasped at the back of his neck, partially in anticipation, partially in frustration.

When his fingers slipped lower this time, and she felt them trace across her hipbone and down to the top of her thigh, she could bare it no longer.

"Nick, please..."

His lips moved up from where they had been assaulting her neck and shoulders to gently tug at her earlobe before softly sucking on the lobe. His whisper was hoarse with desire. "Please _what_?"

She was losing her mind under the erotic feel of his hands slipping over her body, and she pushed her hips out as his fingers slid over her thigh once more. "_Please_... _Please touch me_."

He laughed softly. "I _am_ touching you..."

His fingers moved closer to her pulsating center this time and she gasped. His lips so close to her ear, she heard his breath becoming more and more uneven and she started to move her hips seductively back and forth over the hardness beneath her, hoping to give him a taste of the delicious agony he was putting her through. When he moaned low in his throat, she felt a moment of satisfaction and began to push a little harder.

But then his fingers finally slid into the warm, wet cleft between her legs and she was lost.

Nick stroked her slowly at first, until her movements became more intense and her breaths came in short bursts. Then he concentrated on the special nub that seemed to be the key to her pleasure... and his own as he felt her pulse with pleasure beneath him, tiny whimpers passing her lips. Pressing more firmly, his fingers moved more quickly and he pushed his hips up and down with hers, his other hand carressing her hard, straining nipples. The rhythmic onslaught of his hands was turning her body to flame and her mind to mush. She could focus on nothing but the climbing euphoria that was almost at its peak...

Just when he thought the feel of her rubbing against him would put him over the edge, she suddenly pushed upward into his hand and cried out as she came in a frenzied release of heat and liquid. She was lost in the rapture as her body embraced the sensations it had been deprived of for too long, and which Nick had more skillfully brought to the surface than anyone before him.

He stroked her gently for a moment longer, then slid his hand slowly back up her body and wrapped his arms around her waist, embracing her from behind. She trembled in his arms and he put his face beside hers, his chin resting lightly on her shoulder. He pressed soft kisses on her cheek and she lowered her arms down to rest on his where they sat at her waist, totally spent from the overwhelming electrical force that had just rocketed through her body.

"Nick..."

It was barely a whisper, but he smiled into her cheek. "Yeah?" He kissed her some more.

Unable to stop smiling, she sighed and stroked his thigh lovingly. "That was...it was..."

He he smiled wider and spoke quietly in her ear. "Decent?"

She laughed and shifted a bit on his lap, trying to sit sideways so she could see his face. He moved his arms until she was settled, then he wrapped them back around her as she nestled her head into his shoulder. "I'm afraid that doesn't even _begin_ to describe it."

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "So...?"

She waited for him to continue, but when he didn't she repeated the word back. "So?"

"You feel like talking now?"

She played with his shirt and then laughed. "Hmmm... I think you may have me at a disadvantage here."

"How so?"

"It seems that I'm completely naked, and you're... _not_."

He laughed lightly and squeezed her a little tighter. "I don't see the problem."

She laughed again. "No, I don't suppose you would. But still..."

"You think that it might hamper our negotiations, ma'am?"

She slipped a hand under his shirt. "Yes, I do."

Although not as hard as a moment ago, his erection had not fully subsided, and his loins tightened up again as her fingers tickled across his chest and he sat up a little straighter. When she leaned back to see what he was doing, he pulled his shirt over his head.

"That better?"

She forced back the instant need to exhale heavily when she saw his perfectly toned torso.

"Oh, it's definitely good. _Fantastic,_ even." Reaching down beneath her, she began to play with the waist of his jeans, sliding her fingertip across the top until she rested at the button fly. His eyes became darker as he looked down at her hand, and then back into her face. She favoured him with a small, coy smile.

"But I don't think we're done yet."

* * *

_**A.N Part two: **_OK, since I'm pretty sure this is my last Nick/Sara story, I'm going for broke. :)

There's more to come, so stay tuned. And yes _IWantGeorge_, that pun was intended. :p


	13. Chapter 13

**_A.N: _**I noticed there is an "MA" rating (or 18+) in the ratings guide, but it won't let me use it for this story?

Anyway, I'm about to get a bit graphic (moreso than I've ever done, anyway) so if you're the kind of person who blushes when they see people making out in the park, you might wanna take a pass from here on out. ;)

* * *

Sara played with Nick's treasure trail, her fingernails caressing the little dark hairs that drifted provocatively below his belt to points unknown. Her head bowed as she watched her own fingers move and a tender smile pulled at Nick's mouth. He took in her long, lean body and decided then and there that this must be what people meant when they called something or someone "a work of art".

Sara tilted her head slightly to look at him and caught his smile. She smiled back and leaned up to kiss him softly, her hands sliding up his chest slowly. His hand slid down her bare shoulder to rest in the small of her back and his fingers moved in small circles there, causing a tendril of pleasure to waft through her. She moved her lips away from his, still smiling.

As her hands began to slide back down his chest, he reached down and undid his belt and took it off in one quick pull, tossing it carelessly to the floor. Sara smiled with amusement.

"Why Nick, _whatever_ are you doing?"

He looked down at her innocently, but a smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. "Nothing."

"_Ah_. Nevermind then." She laughed, looking down at his chest nervously as her fingers played with his belly button. He pushed her hair behind her ear and then cupped her cheek with his palm. She smiled up at him once more and he sighed.

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any more beautiful, you smile at me like that." She began to blush and his thumb caressed her jaw gently. "And I mean to keep making you smile like that from now on."

She was a little overwhelmed to hear him say something like that, but aside from blushing a little deeper she said nothing.

Touched by his words and feeling a little braver, she let her hand slip down to the top of his button-fly jeans. She played with the top botton a bit, slipping her fingers underneath the material but holding back from actually pulling it open. She dipped her head and kissed around his belly button, flicking her tongue lightly inside before moving down to the skin below it. Her pulse fluttered at the sound of his uneven breathing and he leaned back a little more into the sofa.

She kissed her way down to the waistband of his jeans and her fingers slipped under the top button again but this time she popped it open. She pushed the material slightly open and kissed the bit of stomach she'd revealed, her hand continuing down the front of his jeans, grazing the hardness just below. She was almost startled by the feel of something akin to iron pressing up against the material beneath her hand, and Nick sucked in a small breath at her touch.

Smiling secretively, she slid her hand back over the strained material and moved up to the next button down and he shifted fractionally, impatient for the promise of release she was taunting him with. She played with the skin of his stomach again before releasing the next button and opening his jeans a little more. Then she stopped.

"Nick?"

He looked at her through eyes slitted with aroused anticipation, confused. "Yeah?" It was more a breath than a word.

"You're not wearing any underwear." She laughed lightly.

He looked more confused for a second and then he grinned. "Oh yeah... I forgot. I showered at the lab and I didn't have a change of underwear."

She grinned wider. "That's convenient."

He started to chuckle. "Isn't it, though?"

She laughed with him briefly, but his mirth was cut short when she ran her fingers quickly through the rest of his buttons and eased the material wide open. His hips moved upwards slightly as if the release of the pressure was all he really needed in the end. But then she lowered her head and kissed along his lower stomach to his hip bone, and he knew the best was yet to come.

Her hand pushed at the material until it started to slide downwards and her fingers reached his thigh. Nick shifted up again for a moment so she could push them all the way down his legs. Jeans disposed of, she slid her hands back up his legs, watching his face the whole time. He stared back at her with the hungriest expression she'd ever seen on a human being outside of the movies, and she felt a shiver run up her spine. The heat moved simultaneously upwards to her face and downwards between her thighs as she kneeled before him.

And then she looked down and was suddenly stricken by a major case of the nerves.

She looked back into his face and he must have seen something in her eyes because his expression became one of concern.

"Sara... what? Are you OK?" 

She looked away, trying not to smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Then what's wrong?"

She couldn't hide the smile now and she turned her face back towards him. "I'm just not sure I have... _room_... for that."

At first he didn't understand, and then he laughed in amazement. "Don't you worry, darlin'. We'll figure it out."

She nodded, grinning, but the size him was a little daunting. Still...

She suddenly felt hungry for something a little unusual for her. She'd been planning on teasing him a little before they moved on to what she hoped would be some phenomenal sex. But now, gazing down upon him she found she desperately wanted to do something it usually took her at least a month into a sexual relationship to even consider doing.

Nervous but excited, she moved her hands to his inner thighs and lowered her mouth back down to his hip bone, kissing him slowly, sensually. And then she moved her fingers tentatively to the base of his shaft and he moved his hips upwards again, letting out a ragged breath. She carefully curled her hand around his hard, satiny length and stroked him slowly, raising her eyes only enough to watch him lean his head back into the sofa, his eyes squeezed shut. Her breasts began to ache with arousal as they rubbed against his thigh.

Her hand twisted fractionally as she continued to move it rhythmically up and down his hard length, and she kissed her way across his stomach. Her other hand slipped between his thighs again and caressed below his shaft and he let out a groan of ecstacy, eliciting more of the wetness growing between her own legs.

Still surprised at how much she wanted this, she finally ran her lips and tongue slowly over his moist dome and he cried out, running his fingers through her hair and clutching at her desperately.

"God... _Sara_..."

She smiled as she continued to lick at the fluted opening, and her hand began to move more quickly. His hips were moving up and down with her movements now but when she slid her mouth further down his shaft, drawing him into the soft, wet heat of her mouth, he arched upwards and clutched at her shoulder, moaning low in his throat.

"_Oh God_... _Yessss_..."

The way she was using her tongue was driving him into a frenzy and it took all the self-control he had not to push himself harder and deeper into her. But she took a little more of him with each upward thrust, sucking and running her tongue over him as he pushed into the hot, satiny bliss he found in her mouth. She made small, hungry noises as she caressed him and he felt himself quickly approaching theedge of his sanity...

"Sara... baby... I'm gonna..."

He was going to pull away from her but she seemed to take him even more deeply inside her, causing his mind to start to vibrate on the edge of ecstacy.

"Sara... I'm going to-"

But it was too late.

He lost control as she simultaneously ran her fingers over the area below his shaft with one hand and tightly moved her other hand and her mouth over his shaft. His hands clutched at her hair as he felt the release flow out of him, and still she licked and tasted and massaged him with her mouth until he finally shuddered at the end of his surge.

* * *

Sara sat on the floor beside the sofa with her head resting on Nick's hip, her hand gently holding him in her fingers.

She couldn't fight back the re-emergence of nervousness over what she'd just done. Would Nick think she was sleazy for just succumbing to her lust like that? She was no stranger to sex but there was just something so... _personal _about what she'd just done. She stayed where she was, laying on his hip waiting for him to make the first move.

For a long time they didn't move, and Nick waited for his heart to calm down from its frantic pace. His fingers caressed her hair and she placed tentative kisses on his hip. Finally, he slid down the sofa to sit beside her on the floor and pulled her into his arms. Her head resting on his shoulder, he kissed her temple over and over again. Then he spoke into her ear.

"Now THAT was _decent_."

She laughed softly, and a touch of relief settled upon her tense nerves. She squeezed him tighter. "Gee, thanks."

They laughed together and he continued to hold her close, running his face through her hair and peppering her with small kisses.

"You know something funny?"

"What?"

"I thought I was going to fall asleep at the wheel after our shift. But the moment I saw you in that towel, my exhaustion disappeared."

She smiled into his shoulder, her confidence growing a little more. "When I heard your message on my phone, the same thing happened to me."

He grinned wider and then put his lips next to her ear to murmur quietly, "But now I'm _beat_."

She nodded a little and then yawned on cue. "Yeah, me too."

"Maybe we should get some sleep?"

She nodded again, but was suddenly nervous.

Was that it then? Would he be leaving now? Her paranoia began to creep back up on her and she swallowed heavily.

Unaware of her heightening tension, he caressed her back tenderly. "So...Um, do you think it would be OK if I stayed here with you?"

She leaned back and looked into his face, almost more relieved than she'd ever been in her life. She brushed his lips gently with her own and then smiled shyly. "I'd like that."

He kissed her back and then slowly stood up, pulling her up with him. They got some water and made their way back to her room.

He pulled her against him and eased her towards the bed, never losing contact with her. He pulled the covers back and coaxed her under them, sliding in behind her.

The last thing she felt was the warmth of him, the smell of him as he embraced her from behind and kissed her shoulder tenderly before they both fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

* * *

****

****

**_A.N: _**You'd think that would be it, wouldn't you? But is there more "18+" yet to come?

Place your bets!

:p


	14. Chapter 14

**_A.N: _**Did I scare anyone away? I think there's a ring in hell just for people with dirty minds... See you all there! lol

And as for Nick being a 'Southern Gentleman'- Sara _did_ get to have hers first, if you remember Chapter 12... ;) Plus, I think in all my other stories he _does the honors_, so to speak, and I thought it was about time he _got some_. :) C'mon, he deserves it!

And _forensicsfan-_ I like those odds! ;)

AGAIN, enter if you dare. It's gonna get dirty. :)

* * *

Sara woke up much later to find that they'd hardly changed positions since they'd first layed down. Nick was slanted a little away from her back, but his hand was still on her waist.

The bathroom was urgently calling to her so she slipped carefully out from under his arm and grabbed some underwear and a t-shirt and crept out of the room.

She cleaned herself up a little and then pulled on the t-shirt and underwear before hitting the kitchen for some more water. She was still tired, but she was caught up for the moment, thinking on what had happened earlier. She could feel her face heating up as she remembered exactly what they'd done, and held back a small giggle.

_Wow, that was intense_. _I can't believe I did that_.

She was still surprised at what she'd done, but thankfully Nick hadn't seemed put off by her "forward" behaviour at all.

She looked back towards her bedroom and smiled happily. Even if she hadn't still been as tired as she was, there was nowhere she'd rather be than back in her bed beside Nick.

She went quietly back inside and found he'd rolled over slightly onto his back and thrown an arm over his head, but he was still sleeping soundly. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she watched him sleeping for a moment, enthralled by the way his lashes fanned out over his cheeks. She leaned over and kissed his forehead softly, then curled up against him and fell back asleep.

* * *

Sara was confused for a moment.

She felt a mild tickling across her belly and at first she moved her fingers to scratch at the itch, but feeling a hand there, she opened her eyes in surprise.

Then she remembered.

She smiled and stroked the back of Nick's hand as he kissed her tenderly behind her ear.

They were back in their original embrace, his loins pressed up against her warm bottom, his arm wrapped around her waist. The room was dark now since night had finally come a short while before. He continued to caress her stomach and she came very close to purring.

"Hey there." His voice was husky and his breath tickled her ear. She snuggled back towards him a little more.

"Hi." She ran her hand up and down his forearm. "You sleep OK?"

"Like a rock. You?"

"Uh huh. I can't remember the last time I slept that well."

"You got up at some point though." His fingers slipped to the side of her underwear and slipped underneath to stroke her hip. "Seems you have _me _at a disadvantage this time."

"Oh, yeah... I got up to go to the bathroom earlier and I put on some clothes. I guess I felt a little..."

"_Naked_?"

They both laughed and she sighed happily. She'd been worried there might be some awkwardness when they finally woke up together, but she felt strangely comfortable.

"Yeah, I guess I did."

His hand moved up from her hip and pushed at the t-shirt. She barely had to raise up before he'd pulled it over her head.

"There we go." Still behind her, he slid his fingertips slowly across her breasts and then continued downwards. "That's _much_ better."

The goosebumps began first, followed by the familiar swirling in her belly as his fingers moved back down to the side of her panties. And then his hand whispered across the material and slipped between her legs, barely touching her but causing her to heat up nonetheless. Softly stoking her through the material, his voice murmured low in her ear.

"You're so _warm_..."

His hand slipped her panties slowly down her legs and then he shifted backwards to lay at a slight angle to her. She didn't fight him as he drew her top leg back over his, and his hand dipped down again to play in the soft hair at the juncture of her legs. She reached back and grabbed at his hip and he pushed more tightly against her. Her mouth went dry as she felt the hard length of him pressing against her bottom, and she wet her lips with her tongue.

"You're... you're so hard already." She hoped she hadn't sounded as amazed as she felt.

"I can't help it, Sara. It's all your fault... _You_ do it to me."

She gasped as he finally pressed his fingers into her already damp flesh, working the folds there gently. She could feel her temperature rising with every touch.

While his fingers worked her most sensitive places, he gnawed her shoulder lighty with his teeth. She squirmed underneath his hand, trying to get him to touch that place... the place that would start her down the pathway to bliss. As if reading her mind, his finger grazed the already swelling nub and she gasped again.

"_Oh_..."

He whispered raggedly in her ear again. "Is that good?"

She pushed herself harder against his hand. "_YYY_-_Yes_..."

She sucked in a breath when he suddenly slipped his silky, stiffened length between her spread thighs, the moist tip sliding along the curve of her, seemingly searching for the narrow opening that was already slick and ready for him.

But he didn't enter her, even though her body was crying out for it; his dome glided back and forth along her, nudging at her hard, knotted core before slipping back to start all over again. When she tried to move to allow him inside her, he held onto her hips with one hand, keeping her in place while the fingertips of the other gently spread her folds of flesh more open to him, sliding his tip tantalizingly back and forth against her super-sensitized nub again and again.

"Nick... I... _I need you_..." Her voice was strained with desire but she couldn't help herself. If he teased her much more, she was fairly certain she was going to die.

Growling low in his throat, he pulled away and pushed her gently onto her back at the center of the bed.

He bent her knees up to the ceiling and then eased them apart. He slid his body up along hers, moving his hips in a small circle when his smooth, steeled length rubbed erotically across the enflamed area between her thighs. Almost in opposition to his teasing assault on her body, he reached up and touched her face tenderly, stroking her cheek before kissing her slowly and sensually. She thought she might go mad as his tongue passionately explored her mouth while his hips continued to move in small circles over her.

Breaking off the kiss slowly, he stared hungrily into her burning eyes and then kissed his way back down her chest, tonguing and tasting her taut nipples and causing her breasts to throb to the rhythm of her pulsating core. His hands slid down to her hips as he pushed his groin towards her, but to her ever-growing consternation, he still didn't penetrate her.

Grasping at the back of his hair, she pushed her body up into him as he hovered above her, and he raised his head to gaze down at her as he slid his hands down her tensed thighs. She was first surprised and then dismayed even further when, instead of finally pushing his hardness inside her, he slid further down her body so that his feet were almost off the end of the bed.

She let out a harsh breath. "Nick..._please_-"

But her sudden displeasure evaporated completely when he gripped her thighs and dropped his head down between them.

Sara moaned loudly and arched her back as his tongue slid against her insistently, parting her and tasting her all over like a forbidden sweet. He languidly stretched out his body as he continued to lick and suck at her everywhere... everywhere _except_ where she wanted him to... where she _needed _him to. Again, he tortured her with the promise of ecstacy, coming just close enough to keep her panting and twisting beneath his mouth as she tried to guide him to her throbbing center.

Satisfied that she was completely desperate for him, he finally stopped tormenting her and moved his fingers to open her a little wider, and leaned in to flick hard, wet strokes against her clitoris with his tongue until she thought she might explode. She arched as far as her back would allow her as he carried her into the first mindblowing orgasm... and well into the second one.

And just as she began to sob and twist with the next overwhelming wave of ecstacy, he pushed her thighs further apart and entered her hard with a powerful thrust.

As slick and welcoming as her body was at that moment, it seemed to fight against the engorged whole of him, straining to encompass him. And overwrought with a sort of crazy, agonized bliss, they cried out together as he finally filled her completely.

She grasped at his back as her body clenched and gripped at him, her undulating orgasm causing her inner channel to pull and tighten around him relentlessly. She grasped at his sweating back and moved with him, as lost in the feel of him as he was in her. He pushed into her harder and faster, roughly groaning out her name between laboured, frantic breaths as he climbed higher and higher towards the peak with her. His mind couldn't seem to latch onto reality as his body moved towards its ultimate release...

And when he finally pulsed and surged inside her with a hoarse cry, she felt as though every nerve ending in her body was on fire.

* * *

Nick's head lay nestled into Sara's chest and she stroked his hair tenderly.

Still tingling all over, she hadn't been able to stop smiling yet. She'd finally gotten past fighting back the urge to giggle and was now enjoying the quiet aftermath of their intense lovemaking.

Nick sighed contentedly and slid his hand up to her breast, caressing it gently with the backs of his fingers. Her body was still numb and barely registered more than a light, comforting sensation there.

Sliding his hand back down to her side, Nick finally pushed himself up so that he could look into her face. He was grinning like an idiot.

"Sara."

She did giggle then. "Nick."

He crawled further up her body and then slid himself in beside her, putting his lips against her cheek and wrapping an arm around her.

"I always secretly knew we'd be this amazing together; from the first time I saw you and knew how badly you wanted me."

She laughed out loud and squeezed his arm. "_What_! I wanted _you _bad? I think you got that backwards, pal."

He laughed too. "Yeah?" He moved his face against the side of hers, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. "You think so?"

She enjoyed the fluttering touch for a moment, shutting her eyes. Then she smiled wider. "No, not really. I'm just kidding around."

He kissed the sensitive skin under her earlobe. "Kidding, huh? Well you shouldn't be." He moved his nose into her hair, whispering into her ear. "...Cuz you're right. I_ have_ always wanted you."

She felt her face heating up. "C'mon... No you didn't."

"Sure I did."

"Nick, you don't have to say-"

"I'm not just saying it, Sara. I mean it." He leaned up again and looked down into her face. "I've always been attracted to you."

"Really?"

He smiled and shook his head a little. "Yeah, _really_. You never suspected it?"

She smiled awkwardly. "Well... no, not really..."

"Not _really_?"

She smirked. "I don't know... I guess I just thought I was seeing what I wanted to see."

"You wanted me to be attracted to you?"

She nodded shyly but didn't reply.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Why didn't _you_?"

He grinned. "Good point." He looked down at her shoulder and then played with her hair for a moment. "I guess maybe I found you a little intimidating."

Her eyes widened. "Me?"

"Yeah, you."

"But I... Nick, you were the one always cruising in just in time for shift, thanks to some hot date. I was the wallflower."

He laughed. "Sara, you're no wallflower." He stroked her cheek in emphasis. "No way. The truth is, I never thought I was good enough for you."

"What? _Why_?" With every revelation, she became more and more amazed. Here was one of the hottest men she'd ever seen, telling her _she _was the intimidating one. "Nick, that's just crazy. I've never thought I was even_ close_ to being in your league."

"Why not?" He frowned slightly.

"Because you're... well, for one you're gorgeous. You could have any woman you want."

He pursed his lips and nodded slightly. "Hmmm. _Right_."

She sensed she'd said the wrong thing, but wasn't quite sure what it had been.

"So, I guess that's all I've got going for me?

"What? No... Not at all, Nick. That's not what I meant at all. You're so much more than that."

"Then how come I sometimes get the feeling you don't really take me seriously."

She was floored. "Wha..._What_?" She sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed, looking at him in astonishment. She pulled the sheets around her in an unconscious defensive gesture. "How can you say I don't take you seriously?"

"I just... well, until I was... until the kidnapping, I just... I don't know." He leaned on his elbow and tried to focus his thoughts. He'd spoken the words automatically and now he was regretting it. He was making her defensive and that was the last thing he wanted to do right now. Or _ever_. And if he was honest with himself, he hadn't really felt that way in a long time...

"Look, since... since I was kidnapped... It could be that you've been right all along. Maybe you were right to keep checking on me, seeing if I'm OK. I mean, after I just hauled off and kissed you like that in the parking lot... Maybe I'm not totally OK afterall, as much as I try to convince myself otherwise. I might still have issues that I need to deal with, I guess."

She looked a little nervous. "So, you're saying you kissed me... and all this... This all happened because you're still a bit messed up?"

He immediately moved in closer to her side again, pushing his forehead gently against her cheek and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "No, Sara. That's not what I mean at all. I… I kissed you because I really wanted to kiss you. And all this... Everything we've done together..." He broke off, kissing her cheek softly. "It was more than I ever dreamed of having." He tucked a wavy strand of hair behind her ear. "But it's my lack of restraint that has me questioning myself. I'm not in the habit of forcibly kissing women just because I feel like it. Especially not women who I think have no interest in me in_ that _way."

She finally cracked a smile. "Who says I wasn't interested?"

He smiled back. "Well, I didn't know that _then_. In fact, I was pretty sure I was going to be facing some assault charges, or in the very least be handed my walking papers from the LVPD."

She grinned and shook her head in amazement. "You know me better than that, Nick. Even if I hadn't been attracted to you, I would have let it go. We've been through too much together over the years for me to let one incident like that ruin our friendship." Then she smirked. "Although I may have gone ahead and filed charges if you'd still had that moustache when you kissed me."

"Ohhhh... Come on now! You know you loved it." He was laughing softly, relieved that he'd turned things back around somewhat.

"_Hmmm_. No comment."

He just shook his head and smirked back at her.

Then she seemed to be considering something and he tilted his head at her in question.

"What?"

"What did you mean when you said I don't take you seriously?"

He let out a sigh and gave her a sheepish grin. "It's just that you... well sometimes at work you drive me a little nuts."

_Or she used to_. _I shouldn't have brought this up_. _She's been really great lately_...

Her brows went up in surprise. "What do you mean?"

He felt uncomfortable, but he decided honesty was the best policy.

"It's just that one minute you're all sweet and cute and funny, talking about snufalufuguses..." She laughed a little at that and then he continued. "And then the next you're riding me about something you think I shouldn't have done. Like I don't know what the hell I'm doing."

She looked astonished. "Like _when_?"

"What about that guy who probably drowned trying to save that girl's life. You got on my back because I wanted to give the guy's father some peace of mind."

She frowned. "Nick, that was _forever _ago. I don't even-"

"I guess sometimes you act as though I don't want it as badly as you do."

"Want _what_ as badly as you do?"

"The answers, Sara. The job." He looked over the top of her head towards the doorway. "There were times when I got the feeling that you were the scientist and I was the guy who must have only gone to university because he got a football scholarship or something."

Shocked, she leaned away from him so she could look into his face. "Nick, I've _neve_r thought that way. And I think you're amazing at your job. You know that."

"Do I?"

She looked at him with exasperation. "Well, it's not like I can control what you feel Nick, but if you don't realize how much I respect you, then... well..."

He was expecting her to tell him to _piss off_ and he wasn't entirely certain he didn't deserve it. He was shocked when that wasn't what she said.

"...then I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I ever gave you that impression." She reached down and grabbed his hand, which had fallen to her side. "The truth is, you've always amazed me. You're always so... so _together_. You make it all look so easy... You're this all-American looking guy who also happens to be highly intelligent and can get the job done. And to rub salt in the wound, you get along with _everybody_. Nobody's ever mad at Nick Stokes." She looked tentatively into his eyes. "I've always been a little jealous of you for that."

He didn't know what to say now. She'd blind-sided him with that one. Fortunately she went on, saving him the trouble of replying.

"Look, I know everyone thinks I take it all too seriously, or that I seem to be too focused on the job... to the exclusion of everything else."

He kept watching her, saying nothing.

"Well, I just want to say that, maybe that's how I was for a long time. Maybe I felt like I had something to prove to somebody. Grissom, myself... everybody else. I don't know." She smiled tentatively. "But people change, Nick. People change."

Then she thought of something else he'd said. "You said _'There were times'_, as if it's been a while since you've thought that way... Does that mean you haven't been feeling that way _lately_?"

She looked so hopeful he couldn't contain a smile. "Sara... truth be told I haven't really felt that way in a long time."

She was still uncertain. "But you really used to feel that way?"

"Yeah, I guess I did. But I don't know why I'm bringing it up now... I think I'm still just a little nervous I don't quite measure up in your eyes, Sara. And I _really _want to measure up."

She felt embarrassed all of a sudden. "You measure up, Nick. You _absolutely_ and _completely_ measure up. _Never_ doubt that."

Smiling with relief, he leaned in and kissed her softly, setting her heart a-flutter once again. He laughed lightly into her lips. "So I guess we're finally having that talk now, huh?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I guess we are. I think we kind of took the long way around though."

He grinned. "_I'll say_! But I may send a letter to the UN about our method. Maybe all "talks" should start out that way."

She traced his lower lip with her finger. "_Hear hear_. I'll second that."

Nick pulled her into his arms and kissed her hair, feeling more relaxed than he had in months. And happier than... Well, he couldn't remember ever feeling this happy, truth be known.

"Nick?"

"Mmm hmm?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yep."

"The other day, _before _you kissed me... You were angry at me. Why?"

He had been hoping this wouldn't come up and he considered not telling her the truth. Now that he thought about it, the idea of Sara dating Greg seemed totally ridiculous. But as he stroked her soft skin, he knew that being honest with her was far more important than his embarrasssment.

He sighed bemusedly. "Well... Promise you won't laugh?"

She tilted her head so he could see her face and grinned. "Nope."

He laughed. "_OK_, then. Well at least you're honest."

"Nick, I think I can _honestly _say that I'll always be _honest _with you."

Having just been thinking the same thing about her, he felt his heart warm up and he leaned over and kissed her softly. "That is very good to know." He looked straight into her lovely eyes. "And I will do the same for you, darlin'. I promise."

She was once again astounded by the depth of emotion he could convey with just his two soulful brown eyes. And she realized that she totally trusted him. She kissed him back and then smiled again.

"OK, so then be honest with me."

He looked confused. "About what?"

She smirked. "About why you were mad at me the other day."

He sighed and then laughed. He'd hoped she'd forgotten about it during their little declarations on honesty. No such luck. "Ah, yeah... _That_..."

* * *

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**_A.N: _**Man, how many euphemisms are there for the penis and the clitoris? I'm quickly learning the art of metaphor! Not to mention the adverbs and adjectives... Phew! I'm exhausted! lol

So... I think that's it for me in the Sara/Nick realm. I've really enjoyed all your wonderful comments and it's been fun writing these stories, but the truth of the matter is I'm not really a Nick/Sara shipper at all... I just didn't know who else to pair him up with, outside of an original character. Plus, I was reading one of my other stories (Been There/Being There) and halfway through it I started thinking, "What a load of crap this is!" Heh heh. It just feels like I'm rehashing the same thing over and over and quite frankly, it's all been done anyway.

So again, thanks for all your kind/funny/crazy reviews and I hope that many of you who are still writing these stories keep going- I'm looking forward to continuing reading them all. And who knows, if I come up with some ultimate, original idea, I may take another stab at Sara/Nick one day. Just don't hold your breath! ;)


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